Rapper Tory Lanez was convicted on three felony counts by a Los Angeles jury on Friday in the shooting of hip-hop icon Megan Thee Stallion in 2020, which left her with bullet fragments in her feet.
After deliberating for a day, the jury of seven women and five men found the 30-year-old Canadian rapper, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, guilty of assault with a semi-automatic weapon and possession of an unlicensed loaded firearm in a moving car. and carelessly discharge a firearm. The charges carry a maximum 22-year prison sentence. When the verdict was read, Lanez had no outward reaction. While in the courtroom, he was shackled.
Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, told in court that Lanez yelled at her to dance as she walked away from a van they had been travelling in in the Hollywood Hills during the summer and shot a pistol into the back of her feet. He claimed that the two had a falling out that intensified when she began disparaging his music.
She had surgery to have the bullet pieces from her feet removed. The incident sparked a storm of social concerns and debates that culminated during the trial, including the unwillingness of black victims to speak with police, the protection of black women, gender politics in hip-hop, and the poisonous online environment.
Prosecutors highlighted the virulence Megan faced as a result of coming forward in their closing arguments, emphasising both the courage it took for her to do so. According to their claims, she had no reason to lie.
"Why would she lie?" Alexander Bott, an assistant district attorney, said. "She has been the target of a current of hatred. so that? for declaring oneself a victim of domestic violence?"
In his closing statement, Lanez's attorney claimed that Kelsey Harris, Megan's then best friend, had actually fired the shots out of jealous wrath toward Lanez, who had attempted to halt the shooting. George Mgdesyan, the attorney, claimed that Megan's claim that Lanez was responsible for the shooting gave the incident a more humane spin.
Megan Pete is a liar. From the start of this lawsuit, she lied about everything, according to Mgdesyan. "She lied under oath here."
Harris denied being the shooter and previously identified Lanez as the one holding the gun. His attorney, in an email, declined to comment on his involvement.
At the time of the shooting, Megan Thee Stallion was already a great emerging star, and since then, her notoriety has grown. In addition to having No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 with her own song "Savage," which features Beyoncé, and as a guest on Cardi B's "WAP," she was awarded the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2021.
In 2009, Lanez started putting out mixtapes. As his popularity grew, he transitioned to albums on major label. His most recent two songs made the Billboard charts' top 10.
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