Tory Lanez has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was found guilty of shooting Megan Thee Stallion.
During Lanez’s sentencing, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta read a statement from Megan: “Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I have not experienced a single day of peace. Slowly but surely, I’m healing and coming back, but I will never be the same.” She said she did not attend the sentencing to read her statement in person because she “simply could not bring myself to be in a room with Tory again.”
On December 23rd, 2022, a jury found Lanez guilty on three counts: assault with a semiautomatic handgun, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on July 12th, 2020, during an argument between Lanez and Megan; Lanez reportedly shouted, “Dance, bitch, dance!” before shooting Megan in the foot.
During the trial, prosecutors said that Megan and Lanez, who had been in a relationship, were leaving a Hollywood Hills party together when they began arguing in front of Megan’s former best friend and assistant, Kelsey Harris, who had also perviously dated Lanez. Megan initially told police that she was wounded from stepping on broken glass. She later explained that she had lied in an effort to protect everyone in the vehicle, as the recent murder of George Floyd by police was fresh in everyone’s mind.
Megan delivered an emotional testimony in which she said Lanez provoked the argument by calling both her and Harris “bitches and hoes,” and emphasized her concerns about potential police brutality that led her to initially blame her wound on broken glass. Speaking about the intense scrutiny and lack of support from the music industry, Megan said she at one point wished Lanez had “shot and killed” her.
Harris testified on the third day of the trial, but she invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination before being sworn in. Then, being questioned on the stand, she shockingly recanted on an earlier statement that Lanez had threatened to shoot her and admitted parts of her September 2022 recorded interview with Deputy District Attorneys Alexander Bott and Kathy Ta “weren’t accurate.” Harris continued to give incomplete and contradictory testimony the following day of the trial.
Judge David Herriford allowed prosecutors to play the entire 80-minute interview on the fifth day of the trial. In the recording, Harris claimed several times that she saw Lanez shoot Megan, and said the former offered both women $1 million to stay silent. Lanez’s primary defense witness, Sean Kelly, took the stand the next day, eventually identifying Lanez as the gunman. Lanez, who pleaded not guilty, chose not to testify.
In April, Megan elaborated on the events in a brutally candid personal essay for Elle, writing: “I have truly survived the unimaginable. Not only did I survive being shot by someone I trusted and considered a close friend, but I overcame the public humiliation of having my name and reputation dragged through the mud by that individual for the entire world to see.” She added that Lanez’s guilty verdict was “a victory for every woman who has ever been shamed, dismissed, and blamed for a violent crime committed against them.”
Lanez’s sentencing was delayed several times as his attorneys argued for a new trial, saying some evidence and testimonies were prejudicial. The request was denied. Following his sentencing, Lanez called Megan “someone I still care for dearly to this day” and said the two bonded over the loss of their mothers. Throughout the trial, the rapper rebutted Megan’s version of events, but said Tuesday he took “full responsibility” for the shooting.
“If I could change it, I would but I can’t,” Lanez said. “Everything I did that night, I take full responsibility,” he added. “I truly am just trying to be a better person.”
