Rapper Megan Thee Stallion came out and officially named Tory Lanez as the person who shot her on both feet in Los Angeles on July 12. Lanez was arrested two days after the shooting for carrying a concealed weapon.
Until yesterday, Megan had shared the details about the incident in various social media posts, but had withheld the identity of the person who shot her. She previously referred to the assailant simply as someone who “intended to cause her harm.”
Although Megan has made attempts to move past the event, she was frequently accused of fabricating the story. On social media, some attempted to poke holes in her claims or accused her of seeking attention. Others made light of the incident and created memes. She finally confirmed that her assailant had been Tory Lanez on Thursday.
“I tried to keep the situation off the internet but you draggin’ it,” Megan said on Instagram live. “Yes, this n-a Tory shot me. You shot me, and you got your publicist and your people to [talk to] these blogs, lying and sh-t. Stop lying!”
Megan also said that she refused to tell the police that Lanez shot her because of the recent incidents involving police violence against Black people.
“The police come, I’m scared- the police [have been] killing Black people for no reason. They were really aggressive- you think I’m about to tell the police that we n-as got a gun in the car?”
the whole situation with tory and megan should open our eyes to how we need to protect black woman and stop defending/protecting abusers!! pic.twitter.com/QWgtMhOGBn
— christian (@CHRISTIANEEDY) August 21, 2020
While this might have seemed like an isolated incident, the response to Megan’s assault speaks to a larger issue. Many have pointed out that there is an unfortunate trend of the media not believing Black women when they speak out against their abusers because Black women are stereotyped as being dramatic.
megan wasn’t only trying to save tory from the police. she was trying to save herself from being shot by police after being shot by a Black man she considered a friend. misogynoir and state violence: two sides of the same coin.
— a they/them (@DaShaunLH) August 21, 2020
If a famous, wealthy, beloved black woman is violated then isn’t allowed grace or even believed, how do you think everyday black women are treated?
— Ivie Ani (@ivieani) August 21, 2020
Tory Lanez shooting Megan shouldn’t even be a debate. He’s wrong & that’s it. Y’all never take black women serious, but let it be a black man & ya’ll will be on Twitter praying for the man hoping he recovers & whoever hurt him will be facing consequences. Make it make sense.
— PrettyInBri (@BrianaSymoneeee) August 21, 2020
Earlier this week, singer Trey Songz was accused by several white women of sexual assault and kidnapping. Because of the allegations, a 2017 interview re-surfaced in which actress Keke Palmer spoke out about the musician’s “sexual intimidation” and verbal abuse but was mostly ignored.
