Rihanna Explains Why Her Kids Won’t Be ‘Tablet Babies’ Thanks to Her Late Father

Rihanna‘s kids won’t grow up with their eyes glued to their screens — and she has her late father to thank for that.

While speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere of Smurfs on Sunday (July 13), the superstar opened up about how her dad, Ronald Fenty — who died at the age of 70 in May — influenced her own parenting style. Ri shares two young boys with A$AP Rocky, and the couple is currently expecting baby No. 3.

“I’ve always dreamed of what type of grandfather he would be to them,” Ri said of Fenty. “[He] prepared me for having two boys, really. The adventurous side of me, the outside side of me, the daredevil — it’s how I want to raise them. I want them to be outside and in nature. No tablet babies.”

The makeup mogul added that her dad was responsible for “the funnest part” of her childhood — “just running around outside, barefoot, free.”

Mr. Fenty raised Ri and her two brothers, Rajad and Rorrey, in Bridgetown, Barbados. Her relationship with her dad was complicated for years leading up to his death, with the singer previously expressing her disappointment when he spoke to the press without her knowledge after Chris Brown assaulted her in 2009.

In 2019, Ri sued her dad and his business partner, Moses Perkins, for starting a company called Fenty Entertainment, alleging that the men were attempting to profit off of her name and misleading investors about her involvement. She dropped the suit before it went to trial in 2021.

Both of Ri’s sons, 3-year-old RZA and 11-month-old Riot Rose, attended the Smurfs premiere alongside their mom, who showed off her baby bump in a brown mermaid gown. Rocky wasn’t present this time around, though he did accompany his famous partner at a Smurfs screening in Brussels in June. While there, he appeared to let slip whether he and Ri are expecting a boy or girl.

That same topic came up multiple times at the Sunday event in L.A., with multiple outlets on the carpet questioning Ri about the sex of her next child — but she kept her lips sealed.

“Oh, my gosh, are you guys going to be so hurt if it’s a boy?” she said while speaking to Extra. “I’ve always wanted a girl. God knows best, right? And I love my boys.”

And when Access Hollywood asked whether her two sons were hoping for “a Smurfette or a Smurf” when it comes to their new sibling, Ri joked, “They’re looking for something that’s not blue.”