Entertainment

Rapper Tory Lanez Gets Decade Behind Bars For Shooting Megan Thee Stallion

By Belal Awad · August 9, 2023

Grammy-nominated rapper Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for a July 2020 shooting that left fellow hip-hop artist Megan Thee Stallion injured. The high-profile case involving two music stars has sparked a firestorm of controversy, speculation, and social media commentary.

Lanez, 31, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was convicted in December on three felony counts related to the shooting, which occurred after he and Megan left a party at Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills home.

According to testimony, the two got into an argument alongside Lanez’s bodyguard and Stallion’s friend as they were leaving the party, after which Lanez fired several gunshots at Megan’s feet and yelled “dance, b*tch!” The shots injured her foot, sending her to the ground and forcing her to crawl to safety.

Megan, 28, testified during the trial that she underwent surgery to remove bullet fragments from her feet. In a statement read in court, she said she will “never be the same” after the shooting.

Lanez asked the judge for leniency before sentencing, saying he took “full responsibility” for his actions that night. But the judge said Lanez showed “callousness” in the unprovoked shooting of an “unarmed and completely defenseless” woman.

Lanez’s attorney, Jose Baez, called the sentence “incredibly harsh”, adding, “a ten-year sentence is extreme and really just another example of someone being punished for their celebrity status, and someone being utilized as an example. And he’s not an example. He’s a human being.” Baez said that Lanez plans to appeal the sentence.

Megan Thee Stallion’s attorney, George Gascon, said the case casts a harsh light on the scourge of “violence against women” and praised Megan’s “bravery” in coming forward.

Law commentator Meghann Cuniff told BBC that any prospect of altering the sentence through appeal are “extremely, extremely remote,” asking, “Are there viable issues that are going to actually overturn this conviction?”

As for Lanez’s future, Cuniff said, ” I don’t think Tory is going to be able to do much of a career when he’s in prison. I don’t think they have recording studios there… But Megan’s career is taking off and has taken off.”