On Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, Megan Thee Stallion took the witness stand in Tory Lanez’s shooting trial. In the two-plus years since the altercation that took place after a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s Los Angeles home in July 2020, the rapper has given her account of the night on multiple occasions in interviews and on social media, claiming that Lanez shot at her feet outside of an SUV. Now, with Lanez pleading not guilty on three assault and gun charges related to the alleged shooting, she said she was disturbed to be telling the story again.
“I just don’t feel good,” Megan said as she began her testimony, according to Rolling Stone. A prosecutor had asked if she was nervous. “I can’t believe I have to come up here and do this.”
Megan arrived at the courthouse in a purple Sergio Hudson suit and was greeted by a small group of supporters holding a sign reading, “I Stand With Megan,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
In her testimony, she went on to recount the details of how the fight between her and Lanez began. Megan said that while she, Lanez, and her former friend and assistant Kelsey Harris were in the car, Lanez revealed that he and Megan had had a sexual relationship. “Because I knew Kelsey had a crush on Tory, I didn’t want to hurt her feelings,” she reportedly testified, “and I didn’t want her to know that I had dealt with him in any kind of way.”
As the fight escalated, Megan said, they began arguing about the state of their rap careers. “Tory was basically telling me I wasn’t shit,” she testified, according to Rolling Stone, “and I said, ‘Actually, You ain’t shit. This is where you at in your career. This is where you at with your music.’ And I feel like that really rubbed him the wrong way.”
Megan said she began walking away from the car and that Lanez said, “Dance, bitch!” before shooting her in the feet. She testified that Lanez immediately tried to cover his tracks: “He’s saying, ‘Please don’t say anything. I’ll give y’all a million dollars. I can’t go to jail. I already got caught with a gun before.’”
The rapper testified that she initially told police she stepped on glass. “This was the height of police brutality and George Floyd, and if I said this man just shot me, I didn’t know if they might shoot first and ask questions later,” she said, according to Rolling Stone. “In the Black community, in my community,” she went on, “it’s not really acceptable to be cooperating with police officers.” Megan also testified that as a woman in her industry, “people have a hard time believing you anyway.”
The trial is expected to last until the beginning of next week. Lanez faces more than 22 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Dan Adler
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