Tory Lanez has broken his silence from prison, four months after he was convicted of shooting Megan Thee Stallion after a 2020 party they attended with the female emcee’s former best friend, Kelsey Harris.
“Today I take a stance as an innocent Black Man, wrongfully convicted of a crime I DID not commit,” began the letter addressed to Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon on April 21.
“I’ve watched 2 district attorneys from your office by the names of Kathy Ta and Alex Bott unlawfully misuse their authority to hide and suppress any and all exculpatory evidence that exonerates me, or furthers my innocence,” he wrote. “I was completely robbed and deprived of a fair trial.”
On Dec. 23, Lanez was found guilty of felony assault with a semi-automatic firearm, discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, and having a concealed and unregistered firearm in a vehicle. The Canadian artist faces up to 22 years in prison.
Harris, who was in the vehicle transporting Megan and Lanez after the party, testified that she did not pull the trigger. During her time on the stand, she also said she did not see Lanez fire the weapon at the “Savage” artist who suffered injuries to her feet.
Lanez, real name Daystar Peterson, was originally expected to be sentenced in January, but the date has been pushed back multiple times, most recently on April 10. His newly revamped legal team has already filed paperwork for an appeal and is awaiting a court hearing scheduled for next month.
In January, defense attorney Jose Baez told TMZ he was certain procedural errors played a role in the rapper-singer’s conviction. In an open letter, the “Say It” artist claimed that evidence proving his innocence was never displayed during the trial and accused the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office of being corrupt.
Lanez continued, “Not only do I owe it to myself to fight for my freedom, but I owe it to my 6 year old child, my family, fans, and most importably the hundreds of thousands of Black and Hispanic minorities that cannot adequately fight for themselves.”
But he did not stop there. “For 3 years, the prosecution has manipulated a false narrative, that has left me with no choice but to expose, and make aware, the practices, the behind door deals, and the unjust system used to illegally convict me and countless other minorities,” wrote the 30-year-old.
Again, addressing Gascon directly, Lanez pleaded that he was a “wrongfully convicted man, not asking for sympathy, nor compassion, but for you to simply do what is fair and right by the laws of California, and most importantly in the eyes of God.”
There was a wide range of reactions from fans to the post. They wrote:
“Not sure this social media campaign holds water when given the chance to testify on your own behalf you declined????”
“Nah, you wasn’t innocent when you was joking and making albums. Facing 20 years now it’s black and brown men…… Keep the same energy you had when you was paying Kelsey off!!!!”
“Bro this is a time where is ok to snitch, if you didn’t do it then tell who did, otherwise… YOU DID IT.”
For the first time, Megan spoke about the guilty verdict and the toll public scrutiny had on her well-being. “I’ve been healing after being in such a dark place. The physical and mental scars from this entire ordeal will always sting, but I’m taking the appropriate steps to resume my life,” she told Elle recently.
The Houston hottie noted, “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.”
In a separate post that revealed a phone call from Lanez reading the claims laid out in his open letter, he implied that his speaking out amplifies the voice of other Black and brown people denied a fair trial.
He went on to declare his plans to post “OUTRAGEOUS & DISGUSTING INJUSTICES” that led to the guilty verdict until his next day in court.
