Interscope cut D4vd loose months after alleged killing, exec testifies
A label finance executive said D4vd’s contract ended in December 2025, months after prosecutors say Celeste Rivas was killed.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
2 min read
Interscope Records kept D4vd under contract for months after prosecutors say he killed 14-year-old Celeste Rivas, according to testimony Wednesday at the singer’s preliminary hearing.
Louis Poimiroo, Interscope’s senior vice president of finance, testified on the second day of the hearing that D4vd’s contract through Mogul Vision was ended in December 2025. Poimiroo said the label made no payments to the singer in 2026.
The timing drew attention in court because prosecutors allege D4vd stabbed Celeste to death inside his Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025. Three days after that alleged killing, he released his debut studio album, WITHERED, according to TMZ.
D4vd was arrested about four months after Interscope ended the deal, TMZ reported. He has pleaded not guilty.
Millions paid before the contract ended
Poimiroo testified that Interscope paid D4vd and entities tied to him more than $5.1 million from 2022 through 2025. That total included about $2.3 million in 2025, according to the testimony.
The executive said the payments covered recording funds, legal costs, management fees and other expenses connected to D4vd’s music career.
Poimiroo also testified that the recording agreement had a minimum potential value of $7 million. If Interscope had picked up options for more albums, the deal could have climbed to $19 million, he said.
The label also received money from D4vd’s brand partnerships with Bose, Hollister, Crocs and AMC, according to Poimiroo’s testimony.
Another witness who took the stand Tuesday gave a broader estimate of the singer’s finances, saying D4vd made about $12 million between 2023 and 2025. That witness also testified that D4vd received a $600,000 advance after signing with Interscope in 2022, with a larger payment coming later.
First day included evidence from investigators
The finance testimony followed a first day in court that included photos of Celeste’s remains, which her parents viewed from the gallery, according to TMZ.
An investigator also testified that officers noticed what appeared to be Celeste’s name tattooed on D4vd’s finger during the booking process.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has said the death penalty remains a possible option in the case, TMZ reported.
The preliminary hearing is being used to lay out evidence before a judge as prosecutors press their murder case. D4vd denies the charge through his not guilty plea.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.