Rihanna wants to avoid a messy court battle with her dad, Ronald Fenty, and has reached out to try and resolve their legal issues. According to court documents, Rihanna has informed her father that she is available for mediation on March 18th or 19th, 2020, but her father has yet to respond. The issues at hand stem from a lawsuit filed by Rih against Ronald and his company, Fenty Entertainment, at the beginning of this year. Rih accused her dad of exploiting her name to further his own business ventures. She claimed that she had worked hard to build the Fenty empire, including her makeup brand and lingerie and clothing lines, and that her father has been profiting off the reputation behind the "Fenty" name by using it for his own gain. She also accused him of falsely promoting her and booking her for performances without her knowledge or permission, which included 15 shows in Latin America in 2017. Her legal team sent multiple cease and desist letter to Ronald, but he failed to oblige, leading Rih to file a lawsuit against him seeking an injunction and unspecified damages.
Ronald responded by claiming that he was the first to use the family name "Fenty" for his entertainment company, and that Rihanna's Fenty Beauty was launched a year afterwards. When he tried to trademark the word “Fenty” in 2018 for a line of boutique hotels, though, he was denied by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Now, Rih is hoping to resolve the matter privately so as to avoid going to trial. Despite the ongoing case, Rih and her dad appeared to have nothing but love for each other this summer when they were spotted hugging in their home country of Barbados. Perhaps this quality time together means that their legal problems will indeed be resolved quietly.