ASAP Rocky’s lawyer Joe Tacopina shares a story about when Rihanna’s distinctive scent alerted his client she was in the courtroom.
In a freshly released interview with DJ Vlad, Tacopina reveals that before the trial began, Rocky didn’t want RiRi to attend, but she didn’t listen. He mentioned that after the third day of proceedings, the superstar singer was showing up “almost everyday.”
“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 attorney 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 went on. “I’m not letting her be here. Let’s not even discuss it anymore.”
With this understanding, Tacopina informed the judge and jury that Rihanna wasn’t expected to appear in court, respecting Rocky’s wishes.
Rihanna had different plans, telling his lawyer that she didn’t care what Rocky wanted, and would be showing up anyway. Tacopina then updated the judge about the change but kept it from his client.
Tacopina recalled one day when Rihanna arrived 10 minutes after the session started to “try and be discreet,” and took a seat in the front row.
“We’re at the table, and Rocky doesn’t know she’s there, doesn’t know she’s coming,” he remembered. “But I did, and I just didn’t wanna bother him with that, we’re just focused.”
Rocky began 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 replied. “His eyes go all big. He goes, ‘What?’ She’s here, bro. You weren’t keeping her away.”
Rocky couldn’t help but grin.
“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 shared that he ended up babysitting their child during her Super Bowl halftime show performance “by accident.”
ASAP Rocky was found not guilty in his gun assault case in February. He was initially arrested in April 2022 over allegations from ASAP Relli involving an assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
