Rapper Tory Lanez was found guilty in the trial over the 2020 roadsideshooting of Megan Thee Stallion, a Los Angeles jury announced Friday.
Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was found guilty of all threefelony firearm counts over an incident in which fellow rapper Megan TheeStallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, alleged he shot her in the feet afterthey left a Hollywood Hills party at Kylie Jenner’s home in 2020.
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Prosecutors charged Peterson with one felony count each of assault with asemiautomatic firearm, negligent discharge of a firearm and carrying a loaded,unregistered firearm in a vehicle. The Canadian rapper pleaded not guilty inNovember 2020 and faces up to 22 years in prison along with subsequentdeportation.
Pete suffered wounds to her feet that she described to police at the scene asthe result of broken glass, but later claimed were caused by gunshots fromPeterson. A surgeon who operated on Pete after the altercation took the standto confirm he had removed bullet fragments from her feet.
Peterson repeatedly denied that he was the one who shot at Pete on July 12,2020. The trial began Dec. 12 with testimony from Pete herself, who claimedPeterson had shot her in an emotional retelling of the roadside assault. Shetold the jury: “I wish [Peterson] just shot and killed me.” The defense wenton to argue that this was a case about jealousy between Pete and KelseyHarris, her former friend and ex-assistant, who both allegedly had intimaterelationships with Peterson.
Harris was described as a key witness for the prosecution, but on the standshe claimed she either didn’t see or couldn’t remember the circumstances ofthe shooting due to consumption of alcohol that night and because she wasdealing with anxiety and postpartum depression . She was not able todefinitively confirm that Peterson had shot the gun.
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Harris also told the court that her estranged friend Pete had “painted thepicture that I betrayed her.” Harris testified, “She’s painted the picturethat I’m this bad person, bad friend, that I took hush money. There are manylies.” She also vehemently denied the claim that she was the one who shot Peteamid speculation implied by Peterson’s defense team, who argued their client’sDNA was not found on the weapon.
Moreover, Harris denied ever hearing Peterson say the now-infamous line —“Dance, bitch” — as he allegedly shot at Pete’s feet, which the Houston-bornrapper has repeatedly claimed since she first accused Peterson of the crime in2020.
During closing arguments, Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott reminded thejury that the case was about Pete. He displayed a photo of the rapper as hequoted her testimony. “It feels like every man with a position of power in themusic industry, even people who are not even rappers, they never even caredabout what my side of the story was,” Pete said.
Peterson’s attorney, George Mgdesyan, told the jury “this case is about sexualrelationships,” and contended that the events of those nights had occurredbecause Pete and Harris had a heated and drunken dispute about disloyalty,since they were both allegedly sleeping with Peterson. To this, DeputyDistrict Attorney Kathy Ta arguedthecase was about the shooting — not sex. She, like Bott, pointed to Pete’soriginal testimony where she said: “This whole story has not been about theshooting. It’s only been about who is Tory having sex with.”
The trial has consumed the hip-hop industry and its media coverage since itbegan, much like the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial from earlier this yearenveloped the entertainment world, albeit on a smaller scale. On his recentalbum “Her Loss,” Drake made a reference to Pete, saying “this bitch lie ’boutgetting shots but she still a stallion.” Pete responded to Drake on Twitter,hitting back and writing, “Stop using my shooting for clout bitch ass n—–!Since when [the fuck] is it cool to joke about abt women getting shot! You n—–especially RAP N—– ARE LAME! Ready to boycott bout shoes and clothes but dogpile on a Black woman when she say one of y’all homeboys abused her.”
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