Rapper Tory Lanez has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the July shooting incident involving rapper Megan Thee Stallion, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced in a statement on Twitter on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
The 28-year-old rapper, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, was charged back in October with various felony counts, including assault with a semiautomatic firearm, personal use of a firearm, and carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle during the shooting incident that took place on July 12 in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The “Say It” rapper, who entered his plea on Wednesday through an attorney and was not present for the hearing, is due back in court on Jan. 20, and the order to keep away from the Texas rapper was extended. If convicted, Tory could be sentenced up to 22 years and eight months in state prison.
The Canadian rapper has maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal since Megan named him the shooter after weeks of speculation from fans. As previously reported, the “Savage” rapper revealed during an Instagram Live session that it was Tory who shot her and admitted that she didn’t initially name him when authorities confronted them because of the social climate at that time with police killing black men, saying “I tried to spare him.” She also shared a photo of her injured foot. Still, Tory denied his involvement.
On Sept. 25, he released an album titled “Daystar,” which addressed the incident and accused Megan of trying “to frame me for a shooting.” He later went on to imply that he and the female emcee had a romantic relationship and that he still wasn’t over her.
Recently, the “WAP” rapper spoke in great detail about the night of shooting during a profile interview with GQ magazine. Megan claimed that Tory tried to offer her money to stay quiet after he shot her.
“Like, I never put my hands on nobody,” she told the magazine. “I barely even said anything to the man who shot me when I was walking away. We were literally like five minutes away from the house.”
The 25 year old said that after Tory allegedly shot her, he offered both her and her friend hush money. “[At this point] I’m really scared,” Megan continued, “because this like right in the middle of all the protesting. Police are just killing everybody for no reason, and I’m thinking, ‘I can’t believe you even think I want to take some money. Like, you just shot me.'”
