Rapper Tory Lanez was given a 10-year prison term for shooting US hip-hop icon Megan Thee Stallion and inflicting serious injuries. According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney, Lanez was found guilty by a Los Angeles jury in December of three offenses connected to the Hollywood Hills shooting of fellow rapper Stallion in July 2020.
As per prosecutors, Lanez had pleaded not guilty to assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence. He was found guilty on all three charges by the jury.
Why did Tory shoot Megan?
According to the prosecution, Tory Lanez attacked Megan Thee Stallion in July 2020 in the early morning hours after a party in Los Angeles after she criticized his rap skills. He allegedly fired shots in her direction as she exited the car they were both riding in. The defense contested that Lanez had fired the rounds, speculating that it might have been another woman who, according to the defense, was angry that the two rappers had been having an intimate relationship.
Megan Thee Stallion provided additional details about the shooting in an interview she gave to CBS’ Gayle King the previous year. Allegedly, she and a friend had been driving with Lanez after a party at the home of Kylie Jenner.
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She claimed that once she got out of the car, Lanez yelled “Dance!” and a sexist slur before opening fire on her. He subsequently expressed regret and offered a million dollars to her and her friend Kelsey Harris in exchange for their silence.
When the cops arrived, Megan told them that her foot injuries were caused by stepping on glass. She eventually reversed her choice to withhold information from the police and came clean.
Days after the incident, Tory Lanez addressed the issue in rap songs that suggested an alternate version of events, such as “We both know what happened that night and what I did/But it ain’t what they sayin’.”
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In a statement on Monday, Megan Thee Stallion, who testified in person during the trial, claimed that she had “not experienced a single day of peace” since the assault. Before the punishment was given, Lanez addressed the court and said he still thought of Megan Thee Stallion and himself as “friends.” Lanez did not appear to react while the sentence was being delivered.
“That night was a night that everyone was drunk… I said some very immature things,” he said. “If I could turn back the series of events… I would, but I can’t. But to think that I am some sort of callous individual is not the case. The victim was my friend; she still is to this day. I did wrong that night and I take full responsibility and culpability for it.”
