In a recently released interview with DJ Vlad, Tacopina shared that before the trial began, Rocky expressed that he didn’t want Rihanna to attend. However, she chose to disregard his wishes. According to Tacopina, by the third day of the trial, the superstar singer was showing up to court "almost every day."

"I commend him. He’s like, 'Look, this is my family. This is not their problem. It’s not her problem. I’m gonna deal with it," Rocky's lawyer said at the 1:02:41 mark. "I’m like, 'I know, Rock, but you know, families are there for each other. It’s cool."


"He goes, 'Joe, she’s Rihanna, I’m protecting her from this," he continued. “I’m not letting her be here. Let’s not even discuss it anymore."

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With that in mind, Tacopina said he informed the judge and jury that Rihanna was not expected to be in the courtroom, outside of respect for Rocky’s wishes.

Rihanna had other plans, telling his attorney that she did not care what Rocky wanted, and would be in attendance. Tacopina then relayed the change of plans to the judge, but kept it from his client.

Tacopina remembered one day when Rihanna showed up 10 minutes after proceedings got underway to "try and be discreet," and sat in the front row.

"We’re at the table, and Rocky doesn’t know she’s there, doesn’t know she’s coming," he recalled. "But I did, and I just didn’t wanna bother him with that, we're just focused."

Rocky started sniffing before telling Tacopina, "Joe, I smell my girl. It’s weird, man."


"Yeah, Rocky, you smell your girl ‘cause she’s sitting right behind you," Tacopina responded. "His eyes go all big. He goes, 'What?' She’s here, bro. You weren’t keeping her away."

Rocky could not help but smile.

"It made him feel good, obviously, because, you know, she is one of the greatest and biggest celebrities in the world," Tacopina said of Rihanna. "One of the most well-known people, and she acted like a supportive partner, mother. Didn’t look for special treatment. And she is such a great woman."

Tacopina revealed that he ended up babysitting their child during her Super Bowl halftime show performance—completely by accident.

In February, ASAP Rocky was found not guilty in his gun assault case. The charges stemmed from an April 2022 arrest, following allegations by ASAP Relli that involved an assault with a semiautomatic firearm.