Rihanna files lawsuit against her father, says he exploited her name: Reports
Rihanna‘s rift with her father has deepened. The Grammy-winning singer is suing Ronald Fenty, saying he exploiting her name, according to reports.
In a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ, Rihanna — full name Robyn Rihanna Fenty — filed papers over a talent development company he started in 2017 called Fenty Entertainment. She has already trademarked the name “Fenty” for business ventures of her own including her successful makeup line, Fenty Beauty.
Rihanna says she has nothing to do with Fenty Entertainment, per the Blast. “Although Mr. Fenty is Rihanna’s father, he does not have, and never has had, authority to act on Rihanna’s behalf,” the document states. Some erroneous bookings purportedly include a $15 million Latin America tour plus two concerts at Staples Center in Los Angeles and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for $400,000. She claims to have nothing to do with the bookings.
In 2018, Ronald Fenty attempted to trademark “Fenty” for a line of boutique hotels but was denied by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
Rihanna has been open about her estrangement with her father through the years, claiming she witnessed him abuse her mother as a child. They reconciled, but things took a turn again in 2008 when he “embarrassed” her on tour.
“I didn’t think it was going to be a thing where we weren’t talking to each other. I just thought: ‘You just need some time away right now,'” she explained to Ryan Seacrest years ago. “Every time I tried to call him after that, that was it. I contacted him on numerous occasions — father’s day, his birthday — and just nothing.”
“I haven’t heard from my father in over a year. I try though, I reached out to him. I did my part. Now it’s on him,” she said in the 2009 interview. Rihanna added that her dad speaking to the press after Chris Brown assaulted her also tainted their relationship.
“He kind of did something that was really upsetting. He turned his back on me and went to the media,” she added. “He got paid to talk about stuff — all these little interviews he was doing after the whole situation in February. I hadn’t spoken to him and he was speaking as though we did. It was so disappointing to me.”
Yahoo reached out to Rihanna’s publicist for comment on the lawsuit, but did not immediately receive a response.
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