Rihanna’s father’s cause of death confirmed.
Rihanna’s world was turned upside down when her father, Ronald Fenty, passed away suddenly at age 70.
Rihanna’s turbulent family history profiled.
Ronald and Rihanna’s relationship has been anything but smooth—marred by addiction, estrangement, and even lawsuits.
In a bombshell Oprah interview, Rihanna shared she watched her father abuse her mother—including breaking her nose.
Ronald had a long history of addiction, including crack cocaine and heavy drinking, which strained their relationship for decades.
In 2009, Rihanna told Ryan Seacrest she hadn’t spoken to Ronald in over a year, despite reaching out repeatedly.
“I’ve been the one trying to reconcile forever,” she said. “Now it’s on him.”
Ronald was kicked off her tour after causing a scene on the bus due to drunken behavior.
What hurt Rihanna most? Ronald gave paid interviews after her 2009 assault by Chris Brown—without her consent.
“He turned his back on me,” she said at the time. “It was incredibly upsetting.”
Rihanna’s lawsuit clarified.
In a stunning move, Rihanna filed a lawsuit against her dad, claiming he used the Fenty name to profit off her fame.
The suit was eventually withdrawn, and reports say the two settled out of court.
Still, when Ronald was facing jail time, Rihanna quietly paid $58,000 to put him in a Malibu rehab center.
Just a year later, he showed up drunk to her Diamond Ball, fell over on the red carpet, and was kicked out.
After that, he left L.A. without seeing her, but the pair did reconnect again eventually.
Despite it all, Rihanna reportedly bought Ronald a house in Barbados and continued to support him financially.
Ronald shared Rihanna, Rajad, and Rorrey with ex-wife Monica Braithwaite—and had three more children with other women.
TMZ reported that Rihanna and her brother were seen arriving at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center just before Ronald passed.
In 2020, Ronald told The Sun, “Robyn was checking on me every day” after he contracted COVID-19.
She even shipped him a ventilator, though he never needed to use it.
When Rihanna revealed her first pregnancy in 2022, Ronald said he “jumped for joy” and called her “beautiful inside and out.”
After meeting A$AP Rocky, Ronald told Page Six the rapper was “a very cool guy”—high praise from a protective dad.
Rihanna’s grief highlighted.
All of this comes while Rihanna is carrying her third child with partner A$AP Rocky, making the loss even more painful.
“Robyn has had a very difficult relationship with her father over the years,” a source told DailyMail, “but his death hit her like a ton of bricks.”
The insider added: “Between the pregnancy, ASAP’s legal issues, and her father’s declining health—it became too much.”
“As much as you know something is coming, it doesn’t prepare you,” the source shared. “It’s completely heartbreaking for her.”
Despite years of turmoil, the source confirmed, “She forgave him. In the end, they had a loving father-daughter relationship again.”
Now, as a mother, “She understands how fleeting time is with family,” the insider revealed. “It’s a sad, painful chapter.”
Death certificate revealed.
But the real story dropped Thursday—TMZ obtained Ronald’s official death certificate, revealing his death was anything but simple.
The primary causes listed? Acute respiratory failure, aspiration pneumonia, and pancreatic cancer—three medical punches that proved fatal.
Further down the document, doctors noted acute renal failure and acute tubular necrosis, signs of critical kidney damage.
Rihanna mourns in silence.
Though he died May 30, his official cause of death wasn’t revealed until weeks later—making Thursday’s report a major revelation.
Now, as Rihanna prepares to welcome another child, she’s also processing the profound loss of a father she fought so long—and so hard—to forgive.