Megan Thee Stallion has addressed the resolution of her legal battle with Tory Lanez, who shot her multiple times in 2020, in an as-told-to feature in She. “I don’t want to call myself a victim,” she begins the article. “As I reflect on the past three years, I view myself as a survivor, because I have truly survived the unimaginable. Not only did I survive being shot by someone I trusted and considered a close friend, but I overcame the public humiliation of having my name and reputation dragged through the mud by that individual for the entire world to see.”
Throughout the piece, she alludes to attempts to discredit her, including “conspiracy theories that [she] was never shot” and “false narratives that [her] train best friend shot [her].” (Tory Lanez’s defense attorney, George Mgdesyan, suggested during the trial’s closing arguments that Megan’s former friend, Kelsey Harris, shot the Houston rapper.) The guilty verdict, she writes, was “more than just vindication…. It was a victory for every woman who has ever been shamed, dismissed, and blamed for a violent crime committed against them.”
She writes that she still experiences anxiety from the event, but through journaling, prayer, and friendships has reached “a happier place.”
She adds, “My purpose is for these words to serve as the final time that I’ll address anything regarding this case in the press. I understand the public intrigue, but for the sake of my mental health, I don’t plan to keep reliving the most traumatic experience of my life over and over again. I’m choosing to change the narrative because I’m more than just my trauma.”
Lanez was found guilty of felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic handgun, carrying a concealed gun in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm in a negligent manner. He faces more than 20 years in prison, but his sentencing has repeatedly been delayed as his attorneys attempt various legal maneuvers to secure a new trial.