Canadian rapper Tory Lanez was sentenced to ten years in prison on Tuesday August 8 by a Los Angeles court for shooting singer Megan Thee Stallion in the feet during an argument in 2020. The 31-year-old artist, Daystar Peterson, whose real name was, was found guilty in December of assault with a semi-automatic weapon, carrying an undeclared weapon and negligence.
His setbacks with Megan Thee Stallion, who won three Grammy Awards in 2021 and notably collaborated with Beyoncé, made headlines in the United States. The case was seen as symbolic of the persistent sexism in hip-hop and African-American distrust of the police. It dates back to July 2020 and finds its origins in an argument between the two ex-lovers after an overly drunk evening with influencer Kylie Jenner. The two stars were returning from the evening by car, accompanied by the personal assistant of Megan Thee Stallion, who had also fallen under the spell of the Canadian rapper. A quarrel then broke out.
During the trial, the Savage singer said her ex-lover offered her “a million dollars” to shut up after he shot her. The prosecution had attributed this confrontation to the “bruised ego” of Tory Lanez. The Canadian was irritated “because Megan was more successful than him”, had lambasted the prosecutor during the hearing. The defense of Tory Lanez had she denounced an investigation which she considered sloppy. His lawyer, George Mgdesyan, reduced this case to “a matter of jealousy”, accusing the assistant of the singer of having fired.
The case was also marked by the singer’s distrust of the police, who had minimized the facts facing the agents, just months after the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two African-Americans killed by the forces of l ‘order. The car of the two stars was stopped by the police shortly after the incident and Meghan Thee Stallion then claimed to have injured her feet with pieces of glass. “At the time, we were at the peak of police violence,” the singer explained to the audience. “I don’t feel safe in the car. I don’t feel safe around the police either.”
In a press release sent to the judge on Monday, the singer explained that she had not known “a single day of peace” since the attack. Tory Lanez “didn’t just shoot me,” she said. “He made fun of my trauma.”
