Fans think Rihanna has already won girlfriend of the year with this snappy response to A$AP Rocky verdict

Fans are ready to bestow Rihanna with the girlfriend of the year award following her response to reporters after A$AP Rocky was found not guilty in his legal battle. If you’re not across the music It-couple, let me shed some light. Rocky was recently acquitted on two counts of assault with a firearm, stemming from an incident involving his former friend and bandmate, Terell Ephron, back in 2021.

The not-guilty verdict was reached by a Los Angeles jury after five hours of deliberation, sparing the rapper of a potential sentence of up to 24 years in prison. Naturally, this was welcome news for Rocky’s girlfriend, with Rihanna seen excitedly hugging the rapper after his verdict was delivered in court. 

Rihanna shuts down someone asking A$AP Rocky personal questions following his Not Guilty verdict:

“How do you think it feels?”pic.twitter.com/xskdxfHlkX

— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 19, 2025

That response alone — in which Rocky leaped from his seat to celebrate with Rihanna — had already got the internet talking, but the pair have again caused fanfare with their response to reporters outside the courtroom. Amid the media frenzy (seriously, the pair were being hounded à la Paris Hilton circa ‘03), Rocky was asked by one reporter how it felt to be “losing a childhood friend,” about the plaintiff of the case, Ephron. Rihanna, believing the answer to that question to be just a smidge obvious, quickly whipped her head around to respond. 

“How do you think it feels?” the “Diamonds” singer quipped. At that point, she may as well have added “Captain Obvious,” since her tone was certainly of that demeanor. Rihanna offered the retort after briefly shushing the reporter and raised her hand as if to silence them. All of that, according to onlookers, was reason enough to crown the singer as the World’s Best Girlfriend, as legions of fans rushed to her support. “Rihanna don’t play about her man,” one X user wrote, with another adding that the pop star was “in the right” because “she’s defending her man.”

She’s in the right idc what anyone says she’s defending her man

— Logan Maraj 🦄 (@Logan_Maraj) February 19, 2025

She’s so protective of her man!

— steven ☀️ (@arianaunext) February 19, 2025

Elsewhere, users shared a similar sentiment around Rihanna being “so protective of her man,” or took the singer’s response as a reminder to reporters that “there’s a time and a place.” Others simply showered praise on the couple’s relationship, saying the pair are “literally the same,” or suggested that their next joint single should be called “how do you think it feels?”. Of course, these onlookers weren’t the only to join in on the fanfare after Rocky’s verdict, with fellow musician Nicki Minaj also catching the ire of the internet in the aftermath. 

she said: there is a time and a place, girls.

— degen ghosty (@degenghosty) February 19, 2025

“How do you think it feels” new single @rihanna feat @asaprocky 👀 coming soon

— # TY⇎🪽 (@tyxhndrxx) February 19, 2025

Why was Minaj roped into the fanfare, you ask? Well, the rapper shared a social media post celebrating Rocky’s legal victory, which saw swathes of onlookers remind her of the legal woes within her own orbit. If you recall, Minaj’s husband Kenneth Petty has a fair few lawsuits in his past, which were resurfaced by fans in response to her support of Rocky. It’s typical, perhaps overstepping behavior from stan Twitter, but Minaj wasn’t the only one to respond to news of the rapper’s verdict. 

For his part, director Spike Lee — whose upcoming film Highest 2 Lowest stars both Rocky and Denzel Washington — reacted with a social media post offering his “Thanks To The Judge And Jury For The NOT GUILTY VERDICT,” while 50 Cent said he had “bet 500k” that Rocky would win the case. Rihanna, meanwhile, is probably busy coining the phrase “how do you think it feels?”