Rihanna Sues Father Over Business Venture

Rihanna

Pop artist and self-proclaimed “good girl gone bad” Rihanna was unapologetic Tuesday when she sued her father and his business partner for exploiting her name without permission and trying to cash in on her brand to promote their entertainment company, reports Courthouse News.

At one point the company owned by father Ronald Fenty and his business partner Moses Joktan Perkins received a $15 million offer for Rihanna to play 15 shows in Latin America, according to her lawsuit filed in the Central District of California.

Neither the company nor the men have business ties to Rihanna, she says.

Rihanna, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, says she’s worked hard as a businesswoman and artist to build her name, becoming the seventh-best selling music artist in the world based on record sales behind Led Zeppelin and Elton John.

Ronald Fenty

The 30-year-old Barbados-born singer says she’s told her father and Perkins to stop using her likeness to promote their company, Fenty Entertainment.

Ronald Fenty has never had the authority to make business decisions on Rihanna’s behalf, according to her lawsuit, despite what Fenty Entertainment has portrayed to third-parties in business deals or on press releases.

Rihanna has used her surname numerous times to promote her own line of work, including a beauty line, and her New York-based company owns multiple trademarks that include the word “Fenty.”

“The Fenty mark is famous and well-known in the U.S. and around the world to consumers and the public to be affiliated with Rihanna, her businesses and products, and her as an entertainer,” she says in her lawsuit.

Ronald Fenty and Perkins created their entertainment company in April 2017, billing it as a “full-fledged production and talent development company.” But Rihanna says their company has no affiliation with her and never has.