[Source: AP]

Rihanna appeared for the first time at the trial of her longtime partner A$AP Rocky, on the day of its most important testimony — the description by a former friend of the moment Rocky allegedly fired a gun at him.

The singer superstar, who has two toddler sons with the rapper Rocky, sat out of view of the courtroom’s cameras, between Rocky’s mother and sister, in the downtown Los Angeles criminal courthouse. Security brought her into the courtroom surreptitiously to avoid crowds Wednesday morning.

Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Athelston Mayers, has been standing trial on two felony charges that he fired a handgun at the former friend, who is known by the name A$AP Relli and was born Terell Ephron. If convicted, Rocky could get up to 24 years in prison.

Rihanna watched Wednesday as Relli testified about the moment Rocky allegedly fired a gun at him on a Hollywood street in 2021.

He had been shouting angrily at Rocky, who was walking away after an initial confrontation and scuffle, when Rocky pulled a gun from his waistband and held it in the air, Relli testified.

“He turned around and then it was like BOOM!” he told the jury. “The whole thing was like a movie, he kind of like pointed down and he shot the first shot.”

He said “I felt my hand hot” and later added, “I was hit. Or I was grazed. I didn’t have a hole or nothing.”

The trial’s key witness said he grabbed one of their mutual friends who were with Rocky after the first shot was fired and stood behind him for protection. He said he did not see Rocky fire the second shot, and Rocky ran away moments later.

When jurors were being selected, prosecutors asked them whether Rihanna’s connection to the case, especially if she appeared in court, would affect their ability to deliver a guilty verdict.

Nearly all those questioned had heard of her — far more than had heard of Rocky — and some described themselves as fans, but all said they felt it would not affect their decisions.

It was not clear whether they could see Rihanna or were aware of her presence as they watched the testimony. She wore a long black dress with buttons on the front that resembled a winter overcoat, and had a pair of glasses on her head that she put on during the prosecution’s questioning.

Earlier in the trial, which began on Jan. 21, Relli said he and Rocky, members of A$AP, a crew of creators at a New York high school, had been close but their relationship eroded after Rocky became famous.

He said their relationship had been strained for years and was getting worse in the days leading up to the incident, but he was still “furious” when Rocky pulled a gun on him after a scuffle that began the moment the two met up near the W Hotel. He dared him to use it.

When Rocky walked away, he testified that he followed and shouted after him, until the shots were fired.

Rocky’s lawyer says the shots he fired were not even from a real gun — they were blanks from a starter pistol that he carried as a prop. The lawyer said Relli knew this, and that was why he was so fearless walking after him.

“Oh it was a real gun,” Relli testified Wednesday, saying he knew because of his scraped hand.

He said he felt free to follow and shout at Rocky because “I felt like because he put it away and we’re on a busy street in Hollywood. He’s definitely not gonna shoot it.”

Since the shooting, and his decision to go to police and testify, he has gotten death threats and has been shunned as a snitch, he said, and the modest music management career he built fell apart.

“It’s been a living hell,” Relli said.

About an hour after the shooting, Relli returned to the scene and said he photographed and recovered two shell casings. Earlier, while responding to a report of a shooting, police did not find any.

He sent a text to Rocky that was shown in court saying “U try killing me.”

Rocky denied it in his reply.

“Bro wtf is u talkin bout why u tell ppl I shot at u.”

Rocky said he was making stuff up and speaking “all type of nonsense” and was trying to “extort” him.

The court day ended after just a few hours of testimony because of scheduling issues. The defense will begin their cross-examination of Relli on Thursday.