Moment Rapper Tony Lanez fired at Megan Thee Stallion’s feet after argument in his SUV as he is charged with two felony counts that could see him jailed for 23 years
Los Angeles prosecutors on Thursday charged rapper Tory Lanez with shooting artist Megan Thee Stallion during an argument earlier this year.
Lanez is accused of shooting at Megan Thee Stallion's feet, hitting her, after she left a SUV during a fight in the Hollywood Hills on July 12, according to a release.
He faces two felony charges - assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. A message sent to his representative was not immediately returned.
Lanez, a 27-year-old Canadian rapper and singer whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, is due to be arraigned Tuesday in Los Angeles. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of roughly 23 years.
Tory Lanez (left) faces two felony charges in connection to shooting Megan Thee Stallion during an incident on July 12
Footage showing the moments after the shooting, with Lanez and Thee Stallion lying on the ground as authorities arrive
Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, is identified in the felony complaint only as Megan P.
She had declined to name Lanez as the person who shot her in social media posts and videos on the subject for more than a month. But on August 20, she said in an Instagram video that 'Yes ... Tory shot me,' and urged him to 'stop lying' about the incident.
The day prior to the admission, the rapper posted a series of photos showing the extent of her injuries that she suffered.
On September 24, Lanez said on his social media accounts that he would break his silence that evening, but that announcement turned out to be a teaser for the release of his fifth studio album, 'Daystar.'
Lanez responded to the allegations in the release of his fifth studio album, 'Daystar.' In the song 'Money Over Fallouts,' he raps: “How the f**k you get shot in your foot, don’t hit no bones or tendons?”
Megan took to Instagram on August 19 to share photos of her injuries from the hospital
On 'Friends Become Strangers,' Lanez makes reference to private conversations that he had with the Houston native. 'We both know what happened that night and what I did,' he claims in the song.
He also raps his innocence on the track 'Most High,' Pitchfork reports. Lanez specifically mentions Megan by name in the track 'Sorry But I Had To,' asking her why she didn't reach out to him directly: “You could’ve asked, "N***a what happened, did you do it?"'
Megan Thee Stallion's team hit back at him for tastelessly exploiting the shooting allegations against him to promote his new album.
The WAP artist's lawyers accused Lanez of launching a smear campaign against her, after she publicly named him as her shooter.
They appear to accuse his team of sending false emails, some of which allegedly included doctored text messages, to the press.
Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, is identified in the felony complaint only as Megan P
Her attorney Alex Spiro told Page Six: 'We have been made aware of manipulated text messages and invented email accounts that have been disseminated to the media in a calculated attempt to peddle a false narrative about the events that occurred on July the 12th. A smear campaign can’t change the truth.'
Lanez's reps subsequently responded: 'The only commentary which has been made on this topic was the creative output on the album. We are investigating who could be sending these false emails and intend to take action against them.'
One of said emails from September 14 included an interview with his alleged bodyguard Zyir Brown, who vouched for the Jerry Sprunger rapper, 28.
Brown said in the Instagram video: 'Tory never reacted like how the media is portraying him to act. I’ve never seen him do that.
'I’ve never seen him do anything physical to a woman. I’ve never seen that… I have never ever seen Tory scream at a female.'
Another email sent September 18 from an alleged LIV Nightclub promoter (although the email address did not match LIV employees), claimed Megan's team contacted them to get in touch with Chris Prince, who filed a lawsuit against Lanez after an alleged assault at the venue.
There was also an email sent on September 17, which claimed to have texts between Megan and Lanez, but both rappers have confirmed the messages were doctored.
Although his team has denied sending the emails, Hot Girl Meg's attorney's are accusing Lanez, as the correspondence appears to paint him in a more favorable light.
It comes after he released his fifth studio album Daystar, in which he suggests he's innocent and is being 'framed' by Megan, 25.
In the project's first track Money Over Fallouts, he sings: 'Megan people trying to frame me for a shooting / But them boys ain't clean enough.'
He continues: 'Girl, you had the nerve to write that statement on that affidavit / Knowing I ain't do it but I'm coming at my truest.
'And I thought you was solid too, but look at how you doing me / Look at how you doing me, people trying to ruin me.'
Lanez references the shooting several other times on the 17-track album, including in the songs Look How God Works, Sorry But I Had To..., Queen And Slim and It Was Good Until It Wasn't.
He's since faced much criticism from fellow artists, including Rick Ross, who called out Lanez on his Instagram Story.
The Money Dance artist said: 'Torey Lanez, poor decision brother, dropping that project. Just out of respect for Breonna Taylor. Just out of respect for Breonna Taylor, brother.'
Megan previously shared photos of her wounds (shortly before deleting them), after trolls claimed she was lying about the shooting.
Her side: In an Instagram Live in August, Megan Thee Stallion claimed Canadian rapper Tory Lanez shot her in the foot on July 12 after they had an argument and she tried to leave
Lanez recently released his fifth studio album Daystar, in which he suggests he's innocent and is being 'framed' by Megan, 25
The Savage artist wrote: 'I usually don’t address internet bulls*** but y’all people are so sick! God was really watching over me and I’m healing so well! Sorry I’m not as sad and miserable as a lot of y’all lol but ima keep being Megan Thee Mf STALLION.'
TMZ recently obtained text messages Lanez allegedly sent the Good Girls actress just hours after the shooting on July 12, claiming he was 'just too drunk.'
The Canadian rapper also wrote: 'I know u prolly never gone talk to me again, but I genuinely want u to know I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart.'
Lanez has had some success following the release of his Billboard top 20 hit 'Luv' in 2016. He has released a number of successful mixtapes, records and collaborations since his career began in 2009.
At the time of the shooting, Megan Thee Stallion was already a major hip-hop star following a triumphant year that saw her nominated for artist of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Since the shooting, her guest stint on the Cardi B song 'WAP' helped turn the track - and music video - into a huge cultural phenomenon, and she has performed on the season premiere of 'Saturday Night Live.'
Several artists, including singers Kehlani and Jojo, have vowed to remove their collaborations with Lanez. The Canadian rapper did bring up Kehlani in his latest project, acknowledging the removal and claiming 'no one gives a f**k about' her deluxe album for 'It Was Good Until It Wasn’t'.
