Rapper Tory Lanez has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Los Angeles court for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.
ADVERTISEMENTA judge has sentenced rapper Tory Lanez to 10 years in prison for shooting and wounding hip-hop superstar Megan Thee Stallion in the feet, bringing a conclusion to a three-year legal and cultural saga that saw two careers thrown into turmoil.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Herriford handed down the sentence to the 31-year-old Lanez, who was convicted in December of three felonies: assault with a semiautomatic firearm; having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
From the initial incident in the Hollywood Hills in July of 2020, to the marathon two-day sentencing hearing, the case created a firestorm in the hip-hop community, churning up issues including the reluctance of Black victims to speak to police, gender politics in hip-hop, online toxicity, protecting Black women and the ramifications of misogynoir, a particular brand of misogyny Black women experience.
Herriford said it was “difficult to reconcile” the portrait Lanez's friends and family painted during the hearing of a kind, charitable person and good father to a 6-year-old son with the person who fired the gun at Megan.
“Sometimes good people do bad things,” Herriford said. “Actions have consequences, and there are no winners in this case.”
Megan, 28, testified during the trial that Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, fired the gun at the back of her feet and shouted for her to dance as she walked away from an SUV in which they had been riding, after leaving a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s home. She had to have surgery to remove bullet fragments. She revealed who had fired the gun only months later.
“Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I have not experienced a single day of peace,” Megan said in a statement read in court by a prosecutor on Monday. “Slowly but surely, I’m healing and coming back, but I will never be the same.”
Lanez asked Herriford for mercy just before the judge delivered his sentence, requesting either probation or a minimal prison sentence.
“If I could turn back the series of events that night and change them,” I would, Lanez continued. “The victim was my friend. The victim is someone I still care for to this day.”
He added, “Everything I did wrong that night, I take full responsibility for.”
Lanez appeared stunned while the sentence was read, but had no audible reaction. His family and fans in the courtroom also remained quiet after the sentence.
The rapper was given about 10 months of credit for time he’s served, most of it spent in jail since his conviction in December.
“We’re extremely disappointed,” Lanez’s lead attorney Jose Baez said outside the courthouse. “I have seen vehicular homicide and other cases where there’s death, and the defendant still gets less than 10 years.”
Baez called the sentence “really just another example of someone being punished for their celebrity status and someone being utilized to set an example. And he’s not an example. He’s a human being.”
Lanez's lawyers plan to appeal the verdict, and to attempt to have him released on bail while they do.
Megan, whose legal name is Megan Pete, was repeatedly praised by prosecutors for her courage in testifying during the case and enduring online campaigns of hatred directed at her.
“I hope that Miss Pete’s bravery gives hope to those who feel helpless,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón of Megan at a news conference after the sentencing.
