Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years for shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion
Rapper Tory Lanez has been sentenced to prison for shooting Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion in 2020 as she left a party in LA.
Music
Don't miss out on the headlines from Music. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in 2020.
Legal journalist Meghann Cuniff, who was present for Wednesday’s hearing, tweeted, “Tory spoke for several minutes. He said he still cares about Megan. He called her ‘someone I still care for dearly to this day’ regardless of what she may think of him. He said ‘the victim’s my friend.’ He talked about bonding with her over the loss of their mothers.
“We both lost our mothers. We would sit there and drink, and drink until we got numb.”
Regarding the shooting, Lanez added, “I said some very immature things that I shouldn’t have said. I revealed some secrets I shouldn’t have revealed.”
Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was facing a maximum of 22 years.
Prior to the announcement, the judge received upwards of 70 letters in support for Lanez, including one from Iggy Azalea, who asked for a sentence “that is transformational, not life destroying.”
Just in: Tory Lanez has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) August 8, 2023
While Megan — whose real name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete — did not appear in court to give a victim impact statement, District Attorney Kathy Ta read one on her behalf.
“He not only shot me, he made a mockery of my trauma,” Megan wrote of Lanez. “He tried to position himself as a victim and set out to destroy my character and my soul.”
“At first, he tried to deny the shooting ever happened. Then, he attempted to place the blame on my former best friend,” she continued. “In his tantrum of lies, he’s blamed the system, blamed the press and, as of late, he’s using his childhood trauma to shield himself and avoid culpability.”
The Grammy winner concluded the statement by saying that Lanez “must be forced to face the full consequences of his heinous actions and face justice.”
Prosecutors previously asked the judge to hand down a 13-year sentence to the Color Violet singer, who was found guilty of shooting the Savage singer’s feet in December 2022.
In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors noted that Lanez had also re-traumatised Megan by posting about the situation on his social media platforms.
However, Lanez’s defence team called the evidence that led to his conviction “questionable at best” in their own sentencing memo, urging the judge to simply put him on probation.
They also asked for Lanez to be placed in a residential rehabilitation program in order to deal with alcohol abuse, which they claim he developed in order to cope with childhood trauma.
The 31-year-old has been behind bars for nearly eight months after being charged with assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
Three months later, the Hurts Me singer asked for a new trial, but his request was denied by Superior Court Judge David Herriford on May 9.
The incident took place on July 12, 2020, after Megan, her former BFF Kelsey Harris, Lanez and his security guard left a small pool party at Kylie Jenner’s mansion in the Hollywood Hills.
The musicians got into an argument on their way home, and the driver eventually pulled over in order to let the WAP singer out of the car, according to the prosecution.
During the trial, the Hot Girl Summer emcee took the stand and said that Lanez fired several shots toward the ground in her direction while shouting, “Dance, b***h!”
“I’m in shock. I’m scared,” the Houston native recalled during her testimony. “I hear the gun going off and I can’t believe he’s shooting at me.”
However, Lanez’s defence lawyer, George Mgdesyan, claimed that it was Harris who shot Megan.
Lanez has maintained his innocence throughout the entire ordeal and previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.
This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission
Originally published as Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years for shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion
The Aussie and Hollywood stars we lost
A number of our beloved stars took their final bows this year. Here, we reflect on some famous lives well lived in Hollywood and across Australia.
Star’s ‘ridiculous’ wedding performance fee
A celebrity event planner revealed Jennifer Lopez wanted Bruno Mars to perform at her since-cancelled wedding, but the fee was a step too far.