Behind the Scene of Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez's Case
In July of 2020, American rapper Megan Thee Stallion was shot in the foot by Canadian rapper Tory Lanez. This incident occurred after a party both celebrities attended; Megan was later invited into a vehicle with Lanez where the two had a disagreement, it is unclear what it was about. After Megan exited the vehicle, Lanez allegedly shot at the ground, hitting Megan in the foot.
After keeping this incident under wraps, Megan decided to speak about the issue to the press and on social media in April. This led to outrage; numerous people bashed the rapper, accusing her of lying. Rappers like Drake and 21 Savage expressed their opposition towards Megan on their album Her Loss. The song “Circo Loco” contains lyrics accusing Megan of lying about the event: “This ***** lie ‘bout getting shots, but she still a stallion / She don’t even get the joke but she still smiling.”
Other rappers like DaBaby and 50 Cent have also posted on social media or publicly mentioned how Megan was lying along with mocking her.
The public reaction to this event shows the lack of sympathy and support people have for Black female artists. Cases such as Chris Brown abusing and assaulting Rihanna and the grooming of Aaliyah from R Kelly are past examples of Black female celebrities being victims of assault with little action taken towards their offenders. After both of these cases, these R&B singers have continued to remain in the limelight and receive continuous support before action was taken towards them.
Megan has talked about how the backlash she got for sharing what happened to her, in addition to how it has deeply affected her mental health. Megan, in a New York Times opinion article, speaks further about the topic of protection towards Black women and provides examples of famous Black women, like activist Rosa Parks and Olympic tennis player Serena Williams. She provided examples of how these women were consistently attacked as they were victims to a lot of situations they’ve faced. She concludes her article with how Black women will continue to fight for themselves because in situations like these, there is no one else to support them.
On December 23, 2022, Tory Lanez was found guilty on three felony charges which includes the shooting assault against Megan. The punishment he faces is possibly more than twenty years in prison along with deportation. As results of the case were released, more celebrities who accused Megan of lying apologized for their accusations. Though justice is being served to Megan, the amount of backlash she received towards her accusation depicts the way Black female celebrities are treated when speaking up for themselves. This case can be used for future reference to start believing and supporting Black female voices.
By Kayla Beasley