Rapper Tory Lanez and Megan Thee Stallion attended their first hearing to make opening statements in a Downtown Los Angeles Court on 12 December, 2022, over their alleged involvement in a shooting incident that happened in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood in July, 2020.
Tory is accused of shooting platinum selling rapper, Megan Pete, better known as Megan Thee Stallion, in the foot uttering the words “Dance, B—h” before allegedly pulling the trigger.
Tory has pleaded “not guilty” in the grueling court case.
The high-flying Canadian artist has been charged with three counts; discharging a firearm with gross negligence, assault with a semiautomatic weapon, and carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle.
If convicted, Tory – a father of one – could face up to 23 years in prison.
Tory’s lawyers have painted the defendants as a case of “jealousy” stemming from a third party, Kelsey Harris, Megan’s former assistant and best friend, getting into an altercation with Megan after reports surfaced that Kelsey and Tory were in a secret relationship. The defense also bright up a witness that claimed they saw a woman with a gun. Both Kelsey and Tory tested positive for gun residue.
“Kelsey having a gun with residue was reported by a witness who mentioned the same during a preliminary hearing of this case. It makes sense that they both have reside on their hands because they were in a small confined area such as an SUV hence the reside doesn’t have far to go, including any innocent person in the car. Whether those are grounds to create reasonable doubt, that is for the jury to decide” said ABC reporter Brian Buckmire.
The prosecution also shared Kelsey shared a text message on the night saying “Tory shot Megan,” meanwhile they also played a recording of Megan sobbing in the ambulance on the way to the hospital where a surgeon removed three bullet fragments from her feet.
Text messages and phone calls from Tory were also played where he apologized, and even told someone that he was the shooter.
Megan and Tory had visited beauty mogul Kylie Jenner before the nights’ tense moments where they were seen having fun inside a pool on Instagram Live.
During an interview with Gayle King, Megan shared she was ready to leave when others were not, leading to an argument.
“He started shooting. He shot a couple of times. I was really scared because I had never been shot at before” she said holding back tears.
Tory refuted these claims even putting it in a song “Money Over Fallouts”
“Megan people tryna frame me for a shooting, but them boys ain’t clean enough”
Rapper Drake also seemed to defended Tory on the song “CircoLoco”:
“This bitch lie bout getting shot but she still a stallion”
The case has divided Hip Hop fans alike, and the trial will resume today with Megan Thee Stallion among a host of huge celebrities such as Cory Gamble, Kylie Jenner, Kelsey Harris and of course, Megan expected to take the stand today.
