The Canadian rapper Tory Lanez has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. Lanez – real name Daystar Peterson – shot Megan in the feet during an altercation in the Hollywood Hills which took place after a party at Kylie Jenner’s house in July of that year. In December 2022, Lanez was found guilty of three felonies connected to the incident, and had remained in county jail since then to await sentencing.
In August, Lanez’s team of lawyers argued that he should only be sentenced to probation for the shooting, citing his alcoholism and traumatic childhood as a reason for the lighter sentence. Prosecutors called for the judge to hand out a 13-year sentence instead, arguing that a lengthier jail time was fair because of Lanez’s “campaign to humiliate and re-traumatise [Megan]” since the shooting had happened.
On Monday, August 7, a statement was read out in court on behalf of Megan, whose real name is Megan Pete. “Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I have not experienced a single day of peace,” it began, adding that “slowly but surely, I’m healing and coming back, but I will never be the same.” Lanez’s attorney Jose Baez told journalists outside of the courtroom that the rapper maintains his innocence.
In a statement released after the sentencing, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said that since the shooting Lanez has “engaged in a pattern of conduct that was intended to intimidate Ms. Pete and silence her truths from being heard,” and that, “women, especially Black women, are afraid to report crimes like assault because they are too often not believed.” Gascón concluded the statement by commending Megan for her “incredible bravery and vulnerability” in the face of public scrutiny surrounding the case.
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