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Tory Lanez trial: Megan Thee Stallion to testify over alleged shooting
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Megan Thee Stallion to testify in the Tory Lanez trial regarding her alleged shooting
Monday in Los Angeles saw the start of the opening arguments in the trial of rapper Tory Lanez, who is accused of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot.
If Lanez, whose true name is Daystar Peterson, is found guilty on all three of the felony counts with which he is currently accused, he would serve more than 22 years in jail.
According to Los Angeles County prosecutors Kathy Ta and Alexander Bott, Lanez is accused of shooting the rapper, whose true name is Megan Pete, during a dispute that started inside a car in the Hollywood Hills.
In relation to three distinct felony counts, including assault and carrying a hidden weapon inside a moving vehicle, Peterson has entered a not-guilty plea.
“Jealousy, this case is about jealousy,” Mgdesyan told jurors during his opening statement on Monday.
The conflict between the rappers started more than two years ago when Pete was there when Peterson was detained for possessing a hidden firearm in the middle of July 2020.
Following weeks of rumours, Pete claimed that Peterson had shot her on Instagram Live on August 20. Both artists used their music and social media to share their sides of the story during the incident, which led to a conflict that mainly played out online.
According to social media posts and lyrics on his September 2020 album, Peterson has maintained his innocence, accused Pete of lying about getting shot, and alleged that her Roc Nation management staff was attempting to frame him.
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In a tweet, Peterson made the suggestion that the argument was the result of an intimate relationship he had with the rapper and one of her friends.
In a prominent interview with Gayle King as well as other times, Pete has adamantly denied ever having a romantic relationship with Peterson. Prosecutors, though, claim Pete would testify that the two rappers were intimate at some point.
In response to those who have questioned her account of events, Pete has frequently fired back on social media, including other rappers and hip-hop media figures. Pete has blasted those she perceives as being hypocritical for speaking out against police violence against Black women while remaining silent or acting hostilely toward her.
“After a party, I was shot twice as I walked away from him,” she wrote in an October 2020 New York Times opinion piece. “Even as a victim, I have been met with skepticism and judgment.
The way people have publicly questioned and debated whether I played a role in my own violent assault proves that my fears about discussing what happened were, unfortunately, warranted.”