Rihanna and A$AP Rocky depart Pastis Restaurant on January 28, 2022 in New York City.
Gotham/GC Images/Getty ImagesAccording to reports from People, Rihanna is expecting her first child with partner A$AP Rocky. The singer has yet to confirm the pregnancy and a representative did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
Celebrity photographer Diggzy was the first to get the news circulating this morning with a photo of the singer’s rounded belly posted to his Instagram page with the caption “SHE IS!” People then shared additional photos from the wintery shoot taken during the snowfall this past weekend in Harlem, New York.
Rihanna appears in the photos in an open pink jacket showing off her bump, accessorized with a jewel-encrusted golden cross.
Fans on social media have been speculating that the multi-hyphenate performer was pregnant as recently as last week when Rihanna surprised employees at a Sephora in midtown Manhattan wearing an oversized orange coat. TikTok users took to dissecting the video from how she walked to the way she leaned forward to hug the workers.
Speaking with British Vogue in 2020, Rihanna revealed she anticipates having three or four children within 10 years. The interview pre-dated her high-profile relationship with Rocky.
“I feel like society makes me want to feel like, ‘Oh, you got it wrong…’ They diminish you as a mother if there’s not a dad in your kids’ lives,” she shared, admitting that having a partner isn’t really a necessity to raising a child. “But the only thing that matters is happiness, that’s the only healthy relationship between a parent and a child.”
Metallica bassist Jason Newsted says he is now “free and clear” after facing throat cancer.
The 63 year old musician, who played with the Enter Sandman legends from 1986 through 2001, has shared details of his diagnosis publicly for the first time. He explained that doctors discovered it early, and on May 8, 2025 he “underwent a procedure” to treat the condition.
Speaking on the Let There Be Talk podcast, he said: “They took a bunch of s*** outta here and then they went in with lasers this way and took a bunch of s*** out.
“So the cavern inside my head is different than it was, but we got it early. And I got my ‘free and clear’ about three weeks ago. So I beat it.”
Jason contributed to several of Metallica’s most iconic releases, including 1988’s ...And Justice For All, their self titled 1991 album, 1996’s Load, the 1997 follow up Reload, and 1998’s Garage Inc.
After going through his cancer experience, the bassist made a point to slow down and actually give himself time to recover instead of constantly pushing forward.
He explained: “I promised myself I was going to rest, and that was the first time I’ve done that in my life.
"I’m usually just on or off. And so I promised myself I was gonna take the gravity off and lay down for the right amount of hours."
The health scare also led Jason to give up smoking weed and drinking alcohol, something he admits he likely would not have done otherwise.
He added: “The great spirit got my attention and said, ‘That’s not good right now, man.’ And so it pulled me off it.
"And so now I’m more clear-headed than I’ve been in my entire adult life. And so there’s blessings within everything. The lemonade I’m making this summer, bro — mm. Sweet. Ooh.”
Jason has previously said that his unexpected departure ultimately helped Metallica continue moving forward, while James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich later admitted they struggled to process his decision at the time.
Lars told Apple Music in 2021: “Jason is the only member of Metallica who has ever left willingly. And that in itself is a statistic.
"And the resentment from James and I was just so… 'You can’t do that. You can only leave if we want you to leave'.
"And then we weren’t equipped at the time to do a deep dive into why he was leaving. So of course, now you can see 20 years later, it makes complete sense.”
