There has recently been an international controversy this past summer over an American celebrity known by the name of A$AP Rocky, a fellow gold grillz enthusiast. A$AP Rocky was on an international tour to play at multiple festivals across the world such as Moscow, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Ukraine up until July 21, 2019. There has been an unfortunate mishap on June 30 in Sweden that has prevented A$AP Rocky from performing in many countries over the summer.Â
There has been a video footage that was released to show bits and pieces of the incident that occurred in Sweden. A$AP Rocky and his men were walking the streets in Sweden on June 30 when a group of men followed A$AP Rocky and his crew. The men who were following A$AP Rocky’s crew were repeatedly asked to stop following them, but the group of men denied and continued to follow. As they continued to follow, they began to taunt A$AP Rocky’s crew, and one of the men who was following attacked Rocky’s security guard with a pair of headphones. While on the camera of a bystander, Rocky clarifies that he and his friends simply want the group of men to leave them alone, but that does not seem to happen. Women in the background can be heard saying that the group of men following Rocky’s crew groped both her and her friend. Because the men would not stop following and taunting them, Rocky and his crew, acting out of self-defense, used physical action to make them stop.
Rocky posted on his Instagram page that there were a few drug addicts who kept following him and his group in Sweden for 4 blocks while groping random girls along the way. Rocky then posts another video stating that he simply wants the men to stop following him and that he is innocent, but the Swedish are trying to arrest him.
Because A$AP Rocky is an American who was arrested on Swedish grounds, there has been a controversy between Sweden and the US. Rocky voluntarily went to the police station to discuss the incident, but instead was arrested immediately. In addition, another controversy is that Sweden did not report to the American embassy in Stockholm to notify the American citizen’s arrest, which is not following protocol, and the American embassy has been barred from speaking with Rocky. Meanwhile, the Swedish embassy in Washington, D.C., was involved, but there has not been any specific news stating how.
There has been news by A$AP Ferg stating that Rocky was placed in solitary confinement with no phone call or visiting privileges, and because of this, several of A$AP Rocky’s friends, such as Schoolboy Q and Lil Yachty, have declared a boycott on Sweden. A week from Rocky’s arrest, the Sweden Supreme Court denied Rocky’s appeal. Rocky’s lawyers attempted to push for his appeal stating that the rapper has already lost over $1 million and that this incident may end his career.
In addition, Rocky’s manager began a petition to urge the Swedish government to release the rapper stating that he and his crew acted in self-defense against the taunters. It also states that the jail where Rocky is detained is a place that violates human rights because of its inhumane conditions with restriction of basic amenities, and that Rocky’s request to counsel has been denied which is a violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The petition had over 350,000 signatures with a huge support from Hollywood stars such as Michael B. Jordan and Post Malone, another artist who wears gold teeth.Â
Rocky remained in jail for over 2 weeks without any decision on charges of whether he would be charged, hold him longer, or release him. However, the two men whom Rocky is accused of assaulting, out of self-defense, were under investigation for molestation and assault.
Surprisingly, the State Department was involved due to special thanks to Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West. It was stated that Kanye had Kim to make a call to Jared Kushner for Rocky’s release. Kushner then notified the US president Donald Trump of the incident and it led to Kushner, Pompeo, and O’Brien to further be involved. Several Congress members urged to act faster on Rocky’s release stating that it is unconscionable that young men who are doing well in life, being icons in the hip-hop community, and are very successful, are being unfairly treated in inhumane conditions.
On the July 19 hearing, Rocky was ordered to be held in jail for another week due to a judge granting a prosecutor’s request. Donald Trump made a statement stating that A$AP Rocky has tremendous amount of support from the African-American community, which includes every single person people America is one. Then, Trump stated that he would have a call with the Swedish Prime Minister, and after the call stated that the Prime Minister assured Rocky’s safety.
However, things did not go smoothly and Rocky was still held in jail. Rocky told his side of the story, stating that the men who taunted him appeared to have been on drugs and came at his group first. Rocky’s bodyguard also told his side of the story stating that he had a duty to protect Rocky and that they were only protecting themselves from the attackers. After being told repeatedly to stop, Rocky and his crew seemed to attack the taunters in self defense. Rocky’s bodyguard also stated that the men attempted to punch them first but missed the target. Women were who bystanders also took the stand stating that Rocky did not attack the men with glass bottles, even though others have said that he did.
After numerous trials, the Swedish court system has still not come to a verdict, but the final verdict will be released on August 14, 2019. Until then, Rocky and his two crew members were allowed to return to the US until the final verdict came out. A$AP Rocky has also recently been spotted back in the US with Kendall Jenner, a model who has been seen rocking grillz. Meanwhile, the US is eager to hear of Rocky’s freedom and that justice should be served.