A$AP Rocky Charged With Assault in Sweden — Here's Everything You Need to Know
Apr. 20 2020, Updated 2:50 p.m. ET
A$AP Rocky was charged with assault by Swedish authorities on July 25. Per NPR, the American rapper will remain in Swedish custody until his trial begins next week.
A$AP Rocky's arrest, detainment, and charging have caused international controversy. These events also have fans bringing up A$AP Rocky's BLM comments from July 2016. Here's everything you need to know.
A$AP Rocky never wanted to be a political activist.
The rapper's arrest is showcasing what goes on with international politics, but A$AP Rocky (real name: Rakim Mayers) didn't want to be an activist himself. In a 2016 interview with Power 105's Breakfast Club, A$AP Rocky made headlines when he seemingly distanced himself from the Black Lives Matter movement.
"I'm just gonna stay black and die," he said (via Time Out). "Why, because I'm black? So every time something happens because I'm black I gotta stand up? What the f--k am I, Al Sharpton now? I'm A$AP Rocky. I did not sign up to be no political activist."
"I don't wanna talk about no f-----g Ferguson and s--t because I don't live over there!" he went on. "I live in f-----g Soho and Beverly Hills. I can't relate."
People are using A$AP Rocky's past BLM comments against him.
As we all know, the internet never forgets. This is true for A$AP Rocky, whose previous BLM comments still have many people upset.
"ASAP Rocky can rot in Sweden for all I care," wrote Instagram user @naixche. "The day he announced black lives matter issues had nothing to do with him and he don't care to spread awareness to them because he lives in the bougie parts of LA, was the day you guys should have stopped [caring] for him."
But A$AP Rocky still has some big supporters.
Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and even President Donald Trump have all publicly expressed their support.
On July 20, President Trump tweeted that he put in a personal call to Sweden's prime minister Stefan Löfven on A$AP Rocky's behalf.
"Just had a very good call with @SwedishPM Stefan Löfven who assured me that American citizen A$AP Rocky will be treated fairly," he wrote. "Likewise, I assured him that A$AP was not a flight risk and offered to personally vouch for his bail, or an alternative...."
And A$AP Rocky has some serious public support, too.
Over 600,000 people have signed a Change.org petition asking for A$AP Rocky's timely release from Swedish officials. The petition states that the rapper was only acting in self-defense and was unfairly detained.
The #JusticeForRocky petition also alleges that Swedish officials initially "denied [the rapper's] request to counsel which is in violation of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to which Sweden is a signatory."
So what's next for A$AP Rocky?
Per NBC News, the rapper's lawyer Slobodan Jovicic said his trial will begin on August 1. The attorney added that A$AP Rocky is thankful for the support shown "by a lot of different people."
