LOS ANGELES-Megan Thee Stallion has described in emotional courtroom testimony her “shock” as fellow rapper Tory Lanez allegedly opened fire on her. “I can’t believe I have to come here and do this,” she told a jury in Los Angeles. The Grammy-winning rapper said she was shot in the feet after leaving a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s house. Jurors heard she insulted the accused and demanded to be let out of a luxury car before he fired five rounds at her. The rapper, whose real name is Megan Pete, 27, testified that her alleged attacker became enraged after she disparaged his musical talent. She said the 30-year-old defendant, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, had told her to “dance” before opening fire in the incident in the Hollywood Hills on 12 July 2020. He denies multiple gun and assault charges relating to a dispute with the Savage artist. If found guilty, he faces up to 23 years in prison. “I’m in shock. I’m scared. I hear the gun going off, and I can’t believe he’s shooting at me,” she told the court on Tuesday, the second day of the trial, according to the LA Times. She became tearful on the witness stand, expressing regret for ever having come forward about the incident. “I wish he would’ve just shot and killed me if I knew I was going to have to go through this torture,” she told the court. The WAP rapper left a trail of blood at the scene, before getting back into the vehicle, which was stopped minutes later by police.
A gun that was still warm to the touch was found on the floor near where Mr Peterson had been sitting, prosecutor Alexander Bott said in his opening statement.
Megan Thee Stallion testified that the Canadian hip-hop artist had offered her $1m to keep quiet about the attack because he claimed to be on probation for a weapons offence.
She initially said to police that she had cut her feet on glass.
But she told the court on Tuesday she had lied because of concerns about how the police would react, especially amid nationwide racial justice unrest in the summer of 2020.
“At the time, we are at the height of police brutality,” she testified, “I felt like if I said this man has just shot me, they might shoot first and ask questions later.”
Minutes after the shooting, a female friend who was in the car texted Megan Thee Stallion’s security detail, saying: “Help... Tory shot meg.”
Several bullet fragments were removed from her feet, but some remain and she told investigating officers that she had difficulty walking in certain shoes.
In a phone call, Mr Peterson had “profusely apologised for his actions” and claimed he was “just too drunk”, prosecutors said. His lawyer, George Mgdesyan, said the jury needed to keep an open mind and he would prove the accusations were lies.