Officials have unveiled the heart-wrenching cause of the passing of Rihanna's father, Ronald Fenty, who tragically succumbed to his battle with illness on May 30th at the age of 70. According to a death certificate procured by TMZ, the esteemed patriarch of the musician and beauty empire mogul, after being admitted to a Los Angeles hospital late in the preceding month, succumbed to a lethal combination of cancer, pneumonia, and other severe ailments.
The certificate detailed the causes of death as acute respiratory failure, pancreatic cancer, and aspiration pneumonia, a bacterial infection that inflames the lungs. Additionally, it cited acute renal failure and acute tubular necrosis as contributing factors, as reported by TMZ.
Initially breaking the news, Starcom Network revealed that Fenty had breathed his last in Los Angeles following "a fleeting bout with illness." Sources close to Rihanna's native Barbados, where Starcom is based, disclosed that Fenty was accompanied by his loved ones during his final moments.
Photos captured by TMZ captured a poignant scene, showing Rihanna's brother, Rajad Fenty, arriving at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on May 28th. Meanwhile, Rihanna, who is currently expecting her third child with her partner A$AP Rocky, was born to Fenty and her mother, Monica Braithwaite, in February 1988. The couple is also the proud parents of sons Rza, aged 3, and Riot, 1.
Beyond Rihanna and Rajad, Fenty and Braithwaite welcomed Rorrey into their fold. Rihanna also has three half-siblings from her father's prior relationships: her sisters Samantha and Kandy, and her brother Jamie. The family grew up in Bridgetown, Barbados, where Rihanna resided until she was 16. The couple divorced officially in 2002, when Rihanna was 14, having separated when she was much younger.
Over the years, Rihanna has been open about her complex relationship with her father. Following her assault by then-boyfriend Chris Brown in 2009, she publicly spoke out against Fenty for reportedly discussing the incident with the press without her consent. "You grow up with your father; you know him, you are a part of him," she lamented, according to Billboard. "And then he does something so bizarre that I can't fathom it."
The following year, in a TV appearance with Oprah, Rihanna shared that she had mended her relationship with her father. "He taught me everything, and despite how terrible he was to my mom at times, it didn't overshadow how great a father he was," she reminisced. "I had to reconcile with that, and I was able to bridge the gap between us."
Their bond was later tested in a lawsuit filed by Rihanna in 2019, accusing her father of exploiting her name for financial gain by founding Fenty Entertainment, a talent development company, and posing as her manager to attract new clients. However, three weeks before the trial was set to commence in 2021, Rihanna withdrew the lawsuit, as reported by the BBC.
According to TMZ, Rihanna was reportedly in the vehicle that transported her father to the hospital in late May. He was surrounded by his family when he passed away, adding an emotional layer to an already poignant story.
