Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in 2020.
Legal journalist Meghann Cuniff, who was present for Tuesday’s hearing, tweeted, “Tory spoke for several minutes. He said he still cares about Megan. He called her ‘someone I still care for dearly to this day’ regardless of what she may think of him. He said ‘the victim’s my friend.’ He talked about bonding with her over the loss of their mothers. ‘We both lost our mothers. We would sit there and drink, and drink until we got numb.'”
Regarding the shooting, Lanez explained, “I said some very immature things that I shouldn’t have said. I revealed some secrets I shouldn’t have revealed.”
Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was facing a maximum of 22 years in prison.
Prior to the announcement, the judge received upwards of 70 letters in support of Lanez, including one from Iggy Azalea, who asked for a sentence “that is transformational, not life destroying.”
While Megan — whose real name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete — did not appear in court to give a victim impact statement, District Attorney Kathy Ta read one on her behalf.
“He not only shot me, he made a mockery of my trauma,” Megan wrote of Lanez in excerpts of her victim impact statement obtained by Pvnew. “He tried to position himself as a victim and set out to destroy my character and my soul.”
“At first, he tried to deny the shooting ever happened. Then, he attempted to place the blame on my former best friend,” she continued. “In his tantrum of lies, he’s blamed the system, blamed the press and, as of late, he’s using his childhood trauma to shield himself and avoid culpability.”
The “Hot Girl Summer” hitmaker concluded her statement by arguing that Lanez “must be forced to face the full consequences of his heinous actions and face justice.”
She did not immediately respond to Pvnew’s request for comment.
Prosecutors previously asked the judge to hand down a 13-year sentence to the “Color Violet” rapper, who was found guilty in December 2022 of shooting the “Savage” singer’s foot.
In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors noted that Lanez had also retraumatized Megan by posting about the situation on his social media platforms.
However, Lanez’s defense team called the evidence that led to his conviction “questionable at best” in their own sentencing memo, urging the judge to simply put him on probation.
They also asked for Lanez to be placed in a residential rehabilitation program in order to deal with alcohol abuse, which they claimed he developed in order to cope with childhood trauma.
The 31-year-old has been behind bars for nearly eight months after being charged with three felonies: assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
Three months later, the “Hurts Me” crooner asked for a new trial, but his request was denied in May by Superior Court Judge David Herriford.
The incident took place on July 12, 2020, after Megan, her former best friend Kelsey Harris, Lanez and his security guard left a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s mansion in Hollywood Hills, Calif.
The musicians got into an argument on their way home, and the driver eventually pulled over in order to let Megan out of the car, according to the prosecution.
During the trial, the “WAP” rapper took the stand and said that Lanez fired several shots toward the ground in her direction while shouting, “Dance, bitch!”
“I’m in shock. I’m scared,” the Houston native recalled during her testimony. “I hear the gun going off, and I can’t believe he’s shooting at me.”
However, Lanez’s defense attorney, George Mgdesyan, claimed that it was Harris who shot Megan.
Lanez has maintained his innocence throughout the entire ordeal and previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.
