Megan Thee Stallion Addresses Tory Lanez Shooting in ‘Elle’ Cover: ‘I View Myself As a Survivor’

Megan Thee Stallion has broken her silence after Tory Lanez was found guilty on three felony counts in connection with his shooting of the “Savage” rapper in Los Angeles on July 12, 2020. In a new Elle cover story, Megan (born Megan Pete) addresses the “public humiliation” she endured and eventually overcame while the case — and attendant publicity — wound its way through the legal system.

“I don’t want to call myself a victim. As I reflect on the past three years, I view myself as a survivor, because I have truly survived the unimaginable,” the as-told-to story begins. “Not only did I survive being shot by someone I trusted and considered a close friend, but I overcame the public humiliation of having my name and reputation dragged through the mud by that individual for the entire world to see.”

Megan didn’t shy away from addressing Lanez’s social media comments and the harrowing effects they had on her emotionally. “For years, my attacker laughed and joked about my trauma. For years, my attacker peddled false narratives about what happened on the night of July 12, 2020,” she says of Lanez’s reported denials and obfuscations of the narrative of that night. “For years, my attacker tried to leverage social media to take away my power. Imagine how it feels to be called a liar every day? Especially from a person who was once part of your inner circle.”

Megan also addressed the false narratives behind the shooting, which resulted in her hospitalization after suffering a foot injury during the incident. “I could have let the adversity break me, but I persevered, even as people treated my trauma like a running joke,” she said. “First, there were conspiracy theories that I was never shot. Then came the false narratives that my former best friend shot me. Even some of my peers in the music industry piled on with memes, jokes, and sneak disses, and completely ignored the fact that I could have lost my life. Instead of condemning any form of violence against a woman, these individuals tried to justify my attacker’s actions.”

The ordeal left Megan in a depressive state as she struggled to create new music and had little interest in rapping anymore, she revealed. “The truth is that I started falling into a depression. I didn’t feel like making music. I was in such a low place that I didn’t even know what I wanted to rap about,” she wrote. “I wondered if people even cared anymore. There would be times that I’d literally be backstage or in my hotel, crying my eyes out, and then I’d have to pull Megan Pete together and be Megan Thee Stallion.”

Today, Megan acknowledges that she is in a better place, as prayer given her the much-needed solace she needed during her tumultuous past three years. “I’m in a happier place, but I still have anxiety,” she said. “Talking about being shot still makes me emotional. I’ve started journaling as a way to better process my thoughts, hopes, and fears. Prayer has also played a therapeutic role in my healing, because I can have honest and unfiltered conversations with God without any judgment.”

On Monday (April 17), Lanez’s sentencing was delayed again after his attorneys filed a motion to begin a new trial. The initial sentencing was for January following his December guilty verdict. The judge set a hearing for May 8, hoping that sentencing will occur within 30 days of the hearing if the motion for a new trial is denied. Currently, Lanez is facing a potential 21-year prison sentence.