‘It took away a lot of peace and happiness’: A$AP Rocky opens up about the impact the shooting had on him and Rihanna
TheGrio...
In March 2026, a woman reportedly fired gunshots outside of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s home while their three children were home.
Fans are used to seeing Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s names in headlines. However, in March 2026, social media users were baffled to see reports of shots being fired outside of the multi-hyphenate couple’s family home in Beverly Hills. And while appearing on the cover of Vibe’s Limited-Edition Summer 2026 Issue, the rapper and father of three opened up about the emotional toll that moment has had on his family.
“It was f***ed up,” he said candidly. “Somebody attempted at [harming] me and my family. It took away a lot of peace and happiness of being able to just be free.”
Prior to the woman identified as Ivana Lisette Ortiz, who fired seven shots at the Fenty mogul’s residence that officials believed to have been “willful, deliberate, and premeditated,” seeing Rocky, Rihanna, and their children walking around cities like New York and engaging with fans felt like the norm.
“I don’t want to be robbed of my peace and joy,” the rapper emphasized.
Sharing a glimpse of the joy he and the Fenty Beauty founder shared, Rocky recalled them laughing and cracking jokes while she was in labor with their baby girl, Rocki Irish Mayers. A joy, Rihanna has opened up about in the past following the birth of her sons RZA and Riot Rose.
“It’s fun. I enjoy it so much, ’cause I am just looking at them, living through them, and I’m amazed by every new, like, discovery of theirs, even their boundaries,” Rihanna told Access Hollywood, reflecting on motherhood. “They’re teaching me how to be their mom, as much as I’m teaching them how to be in this world and guide them as best as I can.”
Rocky echoed these sentiments when thinking about what it means to be a father.
“I want to make sure that I teach my boys discipline and keep them grounded, keep them humble as much as possible,” he told Vibe. “Because they could be considered nepo babies. I got to make sure they chill with their cousins, the rough cousins that’s going keep them on their toes.”
“[Fatherhood is] being emotionally present, emotionally available, receptive, still endearing, but not only that, loving. That’s easy. That’s me all day,” he concluded.