Megan Thee Stallion Testifies in Tory Lanez Assault Trial, Describes Shooting and Its Toll

Megan Thee Stallion, the Houston rapper whose legal name is Megan Pete, took the witness stand in Los Angeles Superior Court as the key prosecution witness in the assault trial of singer Tory Lanez. It was the first time she had spoken in explicit detail about the night in 2020 when Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, allegedly shot her in the feet.

Pete, 27, told jurors the shooting has harmed her both physically and mentally. "I can't even be happy," she said, her voice breaking during afternoon testimony. She added that she cannot hold long conversations, and said: "I don't feel like I want to be on this earth. I wish he would have just shot and killed me, if I knew I would have to go through this torture."

She described the events of July 12, 2020, saying an argument broke out in a vehicle in the early morning hours as the group drove home from a Hollywood Hills pool party. The dispute involved Pete, Peterson and Kelsey Harris, her former best friend and assistant. According to Pete, it began when Peterson hinted at a relationship with her in front of Harris and then tried to turn the two women against each other, calling them "bitches and hoes."

Pete said she and Peterson had an intimate but not exclusive relationship in 2020 that Harris did not know about. Knowing Harris had a "crush on" Peterson, she kept it hidden. Asked why she had not disclosed the nature of the relationship earlier, she said she was embarrassed, "because it's disgusting at this point. How could I share my body with someone who could do this to me?"

After she got out of the vehicle for a second time, Pete testified, Peterson shouted "Dance, bitch" and fired five shots from the passenger side, hitting her in the feet. "I felt shocked. I felt hurt. I wasn't sure if this was really happening," she said. "I looked at my feet, I saw the blood and I fell to the ground." She said she crawled into a driveway beside the SUV but later got back into the car.

Pete said that as they drove off, Peterson offered Harris and her $1 million each if they did not tell police, and said he was on probation for a prior weapons offense. The defense has repeatedly maintained throughout the trial that Peterson was never on probation.

Questioned about telling officers that night that she had stepped on glass rather than saying she was shot, Pete cited her distrust of police. "I don't feel safe in the car. I don't feel safe with the police," she said through tears. She said that wariness was heightened by the climate of 2020, including George Floyd's murder and the Black Lives Matter protests, noting that cooperating with police is not widely accepted in her community. She also said she feared that naming Peterson would hurt her hip-hop career, describing the industry as a "big boy's club."

Cross-examination grew tense when Peterson's attorney, George Mgdesyan, suggested her career had taken off since the shooting and used scare quotes around the word "shot." Pete responded, "why did you do this [gestures scare quote] I got shot." Mgdesyan had earlier objected to her remark that "women aren't believed when they speak out," arguing it was tangential. Pete also testified that Peterson contacted her afterward to apologize, including a text from an unknown number saying he had watched her Instagram Live and could see the "pain in my eyes."

Peterson, in a cream suit and white turtleneck, sat silently at the defense table, taking occasional notes and avoiding eye contact with her. Supporters of both artists gathered outside the courthouse, reflecting a heated online debate fueled in part by unsubstantiated claims from gossip blogs and other outlets.

Peterson faces three felony charges: assault with a semi-automatic firearm, carrying a concealed, unregistered firearm, and negligent discharge of a firearm. If convicted, he could face up to 22 years in prison and possible deportation to Canada. Harris is expected to be called by the prosecution on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022. Anyone in crisis can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.