Tory Lanez Speaks Out After Getting 10-Year Sentence For Megan Thee Stallion Shooting

Tory Lanez has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in 2020, according to NBC Los Angeles. The sentencing was delivered on Aug. 8 after a two-day hearing in Los Angeles. Lanez faced a maximum sentence of more than 22 years in prison.

"Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I have not experienced a single day of peace," Megan said during the hearing via a pre-written statement read by Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta on Aug. 7, per NBC Los Angeles. "Slowly but surely, I'm healing and coming back, but I will never be the same."

According to Rolling Stone, Megan also explained her absence from the hearing, adding in her statement, "I struggle with being present. After everything that occurred I cannot bring myself back to being in the same room with Tory. I've been tormented and terrorized. He paid bloggers to disseminate false information, he treated my trauma like a joke when I could've been dead. He blamed the system, he blamed the press, and as of late he is using his childhood trauma to justify his actions."

Meanwhile, prior to Lanez's sentencing, his lawyers requested that he be put on probation and allowed to attend a residential substance abuse program. Reps for Lanez and Megan did not respond to POPSUGAR's request for comment.

On Aug. 10, Lanez issued a statement on Instagram addressing his 10-year sentence, writing, "I have never let a hard time intimidate me. I will never let no jail time eliminate me. Regardless of how they try to spin my words, I have always maintained my innocence and I always will."

The rapper added, "This week in court I took responsibility for all verbal and intimate moments that I shared with the parties involved... That's it. In no way shape or form was I apologizing for the charges I'm being wrongly convicted of. I remain on the stance that I refuse to apologize for something that I did not do."

Lanez concluded his message by thanking his family, friends, and fans for their continued support and noted, "I've faced adversity my whole life and every time it looked like I would lose, I came out on top. This is nothing but another moment where my back is against the wall and I refuse to stop fighting till I come out victorious. Tough times don't last, tough people do."

Prosecutors originally sought out a 13-year sentence for Lanez, per The New York Times. "The defendant actively invited harassment of the victim by spreading misinformation to his large following in an effort to galvanize the public against the victim and even the prosecution team without any regard to the dangers it posed," the prosecution's sentencing memorandum read, per The Times. "The defendant has weaponized misinformation to his large following to such a degree that it has left a lasting traumatic impact on the victim."

The shooting trial reached a verdict on Dec. 23, 2022, when a jury found Lanez, real name Daystar Peterson, guilty of three felony counts: assault with a semiautomatic handgun; carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle; and discharging a firearm with gross negligence, reports The New York Times.

Megan (legally named Megan Jovon Ruth Pete) and Lanez's shooting incident has been making headlines ever since it occurred on July 12, 2020. When reports of the shooting first broke, it was unclear what exactly took place, only that Megan was shot in the foot — which the rapper had to confirm with a photo of her gunshot wound. But on Aug. 20, 2020, during an Instagram Live video, Megan alleged that Lanez was the gunman who shot her after claiming that his publicist intentionally tried to spread false information about the shooting, for which she was hospitalized.

Lanez repeatedly denied Megan's claims over the years, even releasing an album in September 2020 titled "Daystar," where he told his side of the incident. On his song "Money Over Fallouts," Lanez rapped, "Megan people tryna frame me for a shootin' . . . Gotta see a couple questions: How the f*ck you get shot in your foot, don't hit no bones or tendons? / How the f*ck your team is tryna to paint me as some whole menace?"

Prior to their trial, Megan addressed her shooting on several occasions, the first notable moment (following her Instagram Live video) being her "Saturday Night Live" performance in October 2020, where she advocated for the protection of Black women. Just a couple of days later, Megan penned an op-ed for The New York Times titled "Megan Thee Stallion: Why I Speak Up for Black Women," where she doubled down on her "protect Black women" stance.

In April 2022, Megan spoke in detail about the shooting for her first television interview since the incident occurred, sitting with Gayle King on "CBS Mornings." During the interview, Megan recounted details from that summer evening and the events that led up to the shooting, including an argument that she claims began between "the two people in the backseat," which were presumably Lanez and her friend at the time, Kelsey Nicole.

In the weeks leading up to Lanez and Megan's trial, the latter called out Drake for seemingly taking a dig at her shooting in his song "Circo Loco" featuring 21 Savage. Read ahead for more on what happened during Megan and Lanez's trial.

The trial began on Dec. 12, 2022. Lanez's defense attempted to suggest in court that another shooter could have been to blame for Megan's injuries. But the "Thot Sh*t" artist identified Lanez in her powerful testimony on Dec. 13, 2022.

Megan has been heavily scrutinized since she first spoke out about the shooting and throughout the trial. And that scrutiny has been incredibly damaging: in her testimony, Megan expressed suicidal thoughts, saying, "I wish he would have just shot and killed me, if I knew I would have to go through this torture."

Megan also addressed the reasons that she didn't initially tell police officers that she'd been shot — a point that had been called into question time and again. "This was the height of police brutality and George Floyd," she said, according to Billboard. "I didn't want to see anybody die. I didn't want to die." She added that she was concerned about how coming forward about the shooting would affect her career, as well.

On Dec. 22, 2022, a day before the guilty verdict, her boyfriend, Pardison "Pardi" Fontaine, posted a message about the trial to Instagram Stories, saying, "To any women especially ones of color [who have] suffered an injustice I feel for you . . . When you do find the courage to speak up .. it seems you will be ridiculed .. your credibility will [be] questioned .. your entire past will be held under a magnifying glass."

The Los Angeles jury deliberated for one day before convicting Lanez. After the jury was dismissed from the courtroom, Lanez's father called the prosecutors "evil, wicked people" and was subsequently removed from the courtroom, reports AP. Lanez will be sentenced at a later date; he faces up to 22 years in prison, per AP.

"The jury got it right," Megan's attorney, Alex Spiro, said, according to AP. "I am thankful there is justice for Meg."

— Additional reporting by Mirel Zaman