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Megan Thee Stallion became emotional as she testified against Tory Lanez, who is accused of shooting her in the foot in July 2020.
During the second day of the trial on Tuesday, Megan took the stand with Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta, who asked the rapper if she’s having a hard time opening up.
“I’m having a really difficult time sitting up here telling my story and having to sit across [from] people who have made up lies about me and having to [sit] across from Tory,” Megan responded.
Getting emotional, Megan added, “I try to be strong. I don’t like to look weak. I don’t want to give them the power that they’ve taken from me for the last three years.”
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Ta asked Megan to recall the events of the alleged shooting, with the “WAP” hitmaker reiterating, “I heard the gunshot. I don’t know how many, but feels like it went on forever.”
She told Ta that she heard multiple gunshots before Ta played an audio recording of them, which Megan confirmed sounded like the events of the night.
“I’ve never been shot at before in my life,” Megan said, explaining that she saw Lanez shooting “at me.”
“As soon as he started shooting, I put my head down,” Megan said, stating that she lowered her head because “I was scared, and I didn’t move.”
According to Megan, “He said, ‘Dance bitch,’ and I turned to him and saw him shoot.”
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Megan said once officers arrived, her fear grew as they had guns, and she was scared they would also shoot her. She noted that she didn’t see her friend at the time, Kelsey.
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“Nobody cared I was bleeding. Felt like I don’t matter,” said Megan, tearfully explaining her reaction when officers arrived, handcuffing her and putting her on a gurney. “Nobody cares what is happening to me right now.”
Megan remained teary for the rest of Ta’s questioning, stating her frustration with how the case has played out, especially among male musicians.
Jerod Harris/Getty, Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Tory Lanez and Megan Thee Stallion
“Every man in a position of power in the music industry has taken his side,” said Megan, referring to the support Lanez has received in the time since the incident.
“Not a day goes by without being called a liar,” she continued. “This whole thing is about who I was having sex with, not who shot me, and I don’t know why.”
Ta then dug into how Megan was a rising star when the incident took place and how she feels it has changed the trajectory of her life.
“I just did a song with Beyoncé, and now she knows I got shot,” said Megan, explaining she “didn’t want to say anything” out of embarrassment. “I just did something I’ve always wanted, and now it’ll be overshadowed…. This situation has been worse for me while he’s more popular — I’ve turned into a type of villain while he’s a hero.”
Asked if she was more popular and successful than Lanez at the time of the alleged shooting, she confidently said “Yes,” which caused Lanez’s blank face to turn into a startled and dismayed reaction, eventually mouthing “Okay” as she continued on the stand.
RELATED VIDEO: Megan Thee Stallion Calls Tory Lanez an ‘Abuser,’ Says She’s ‘Not Changing’ Her Story: ‘You Shot Me’
“I’m embarrassed because I’m a grown woman hanging with people I have no business hanging out with,” she said about her regrets over the incident taking place. “Now look at how everybody want to view me…. How could I share my body with someone who would shoot me… Now every week there’s an article calling me a ‘hoe.’ “
Megan revealed earlier in the day that she and Lanez had a sexual relationship at the time of the incident, something she has denied up until this point.
She added that the negative attention is also impacting her boyfriend, Pardison Fontaine.
“I feel disgusted, I feel dirty, my own partner is embarrassed,” Megan said of Fontaine having to see the continued coverage of her sexual history.
She said in an effort to avoid talking about the alleged shooting, “I can’t even be happy… I don’t want to talk to friends or family.”
“I don’t want to live,” she said, loud but emotional. “I wish he had just shot and killed me if I had to go through this torture.”
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Ta ended her questioning on Megan’s relationship with Kelsey. Megan said she no longer has a relationship with her former friend, explaining they fell out “probably in 2020” when Kelsey “met with Tory after he shot me… They went and turned the story around.”
Though Megan said she told Kelsey she felt “betrayed” when they met up, she added that she has no doubt that it was Lanez, not Kelsey, who allegedly shot her that night.
Lanez’s attorney, George Mgdesyan, then began cross-examination, pressing Megan on details of that night and differences in statements she gave police and prosecutors since the incident took place.
When Mgdesyan asked Megan if she lied about her and Lanez’s relationship during a previous interview with Gayle King, as well as to police and prosecutors, she said matter-of-factly, “Yes.”
Mgdesyan also asked Megan if she ever told police about her earlier claims that Lanez said he’d give her $1 million for her silence and that he told her he was already on probation. She explained that she never did.
Lanez, real name Daystar Peterson, was charged in October 2020 with one felony count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, personal use of a firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. He pleaded not guilty to both charges in November 2020.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
