Rapper A$AP Rocky and partner Rihanna watched on as Denzel Washington received a surprise lifetime award at the Cannes film festival on Monday. Rihanna appeared on the red carpet in a blue dress, showing off her baby bump. The entertainer had revealed she was pregnant at her recent appearance at the 2025 Met Gala earlier this month. (Also read: Rihanna set to break her 3-year music hiatus. Here’s when she will release new song)
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky at Cannes
On the Cannes red carpet, Rihanna posed for the shutterbugs, cradling her baby bumps and flashing a million-dollar smile. The singer-actor took her partner, rapper Rocky’s arm as they walked together. At one point, Rocky planted a kiss on Rihanna’s cheek, making her blush.
The occasion was a surprise lifetime achievement award for Hollywood icon Denzel Washington at the film festival. Washington, 70, was at the festival for the first time for the premiere of his latest film with director Spike Lee, Highest 2 Lowest.
The two-time Oscar-winning actor was presented with an honorary Palme d’Or by festival chiefs Thierry Fremaux and Iris Knobloch before the screening, where A$AP Rocky and Rihanna were among the VIPs.
About Highest 2 Lowest
A$AP Rocky is Washington’s co-star in Highest 2 Lowest, extending an acting career that includes If I Had Legs I’d Kick You by Mary Bronstein, which showed at the Berlin film festival in February.
Before handing over the prize to Washington, Fremaux introduced a montage of Washington’s memorable performances including in Malcolm X and Mo’ Better Blues, both directed by Lee. Clips were also shown from Glory, which earned him an Oscar for best supporting actor in 1989, and Training Day, for which he won best actor in 2002.
The cast of Highest 2 Lowest put on a show on the Cannes red carpet, with Spike Lee in an orange pinstripe suit, round glasses and an orange-and-blue hat, and A$AP Rocky showing off a gold dental piece.
Although Cannes usually hands out honorary awards in dedicated ceremonies, it is not unusual for actors to receive them unexpectedly — as happened with Harrison Ford at the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 2023.
(With AFP inputs)
