Here's Why Rihanna And A$AP Rocky Revealed Baby Pictures

The hottest Fenty exclusive isn’t Rihanna’s long-awaited music or even her Savage lingerie line—it’s an adorable first look at her baby boy.

Source: WWD / Getty

On Saturday, Rih and A$AP unexpectedly released pictures of their son for the first time since Rihanna gave birth in May. In addition to a heart-melting TikTok, Jason Lee said Rih gave the photos to Hollywood Unlocked so “Black media” could get the scoop before the paparazzi published unauthorized pics.

Rih gave birth to their son on May 13, 2022, but until now, they’ve kept their bundle of joy super private. The new parents never stepped out with their new baby or even announced his name yet. It seemed like they planned to wait longer to introduce their baby to the world, but Lee revealed that the paparazzi forced their hand.

After the adorable baby pics racked up millions of views, many wondered why Lee got the first call over larger entertainment outlets. The controversial blogger took to Twitter to explain that Rihanna reached out to prioritize a “Black media” outlet before other pictures leaked. Jason teased that he would “break the internet” and didn’t disappoint.

“Since the new photos of ASAP and Rihanna’s baby is out let me tell you how this happened. Yesterday she FaceTimed me to tell me that paparazzi took unauthorized photos of their baby and planned to release them. So she said if anyone was going to put it out she wanted me to,” Lee tweeted.

He sympathized with the relentless press ruining a sacred moment for the young family. Lee called Rih and Rocky’s boss move an honor, emphasizing that celebrity seeds are “off limits at HU.”

“She wanted BLACK MEDIA to be the one to do it since she wasn’t going to be given the choice. First, I’m honored they would trust me and kinda sad it had to be that way. I wish they were given the choice. Kids are off limits here at HU. I guess some folks don’t care.”

Lee also pointed out a common complaint that Black media often don’t receive priority or even access to Black mainstream stars and projects.

“But what’s the most telling is how in the midst of her baby being revealed without her approval she wanted black media to get it out first. I wish more people thought about black media like this,” Lee added.

Other private celebrities, like Beyoncé, notoriously bless their fans with photo dumps and candids to ruin the value of unauthorized pictures. King Bey is so low-key that she still has the world waiting for those game-changing Renaissance visuals.

Rihanna also posted a super sweet video of her baby captioned, “hacked.” The short clip of the happy baby giggling in his car seat instantly went viral and has already racked up 3.8 million views on TikTok. Those internet-breaking numbers prove what a difference it can make for celebs to take control of their privacy and give Black outlets priority access.

Later on Saturday, TMZ published paparazzi-style pictures from Rih and A$AP’s photo shoot on the beach. It looks like that moment from Friday was supposed to be the baby reveal until the situation left them no choice.

What do YOU think about Rihanna stopping the paparazzi by leaking the first photos of her baby herself?