On Friday, Canadian rapper Tory Lanez was found guilty in his felony assault trial at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles. Lanez was convicted on one count each of “assault with a semiautomatic firearm; discharging a firearm with gross negligence, and carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle,” and for personally using a firearm that caused bodily injury. He could potentially be sentenced to 22 years in prison.
The case has been avidly followed since Lanez was first accused of shooting at musical artist Megan Thee Stallion in August of 2020. The assault took place at Kylie Jenner’s house in July that year after a pool party, where Lanez opened fire at Megan’s feet. He was charged that October and pled not guilty.
In an interview this year with Rolling Stone, Megan said, “I want him to go to jail. I want him to go under the jail.”
She added, “I think it’s so crazy that people are able to get online or publish anything that is not a 100 percent fact. That really is messing with my life. How are you able to do it and get away with it?”
At the time of the attack, Megan Thee Stallion was exiting a car with Lanez and Megan’s assistant at the time, Kelsey Harris. The rapper was supposedly angry at Megan’s comments on his musical career and shot at her as she walked away. Lanez’s defense claimed that Harris fired the gun because she was upset over Megan and Lanez having an intimate relationship.
“Tory was basically telling me I wasn’t sh-t, and I said, ‘Actually, you ain’t sh-t,’” Megan recounted. “‘This is where you at in your career. This is where you at with your music.’ And I feel like that really rubbed him the wrong way. He kept yelling and cursing.”
She said on the stand that Lanez said he would give both Megan and Harris $1 million if they did not go to police, as he was on probation. Initially, Megan did not say anything about it, wanting to protect everyone involved.
“This was at the height of police brutality,” she said. “I felt like if I said this man just shot me, I didn’t know if they might shoot first and ask questions later… in the Black community… it’s not really acceptable to be cooperating with police officers.”
Since coming forward, Megan has not only been harassed by people online and in real life, but by people in her own industry.
“Because I was shot, I’ve been turned into some kind of villain, and he’s the victim,” Megan stated. “This has messed up my whole life.”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.