Rapper: I didn’t shoot her
Pleads not guilty to blasting Thee Stallion in her feet
Rapper Tory Lanez pleaded not guilty Wednesday to using a semiautomatic firearm to shoot and wound “Savage” singer Megan Thee Stallion in July.
Lawyer Shawn Holley entered the plea on his behalf after a Los Angeles judge previously ordered Lanez to stay 100 yards away from Megan and surrender any firearms, a courtroom source confirmed to the Daily News.
Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was charged last month with one felony count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle.
The 28-year-old “Say It” rapper faces up to 22 years and eight months in prison if convicted as charged.
According to law enforcement, Lanez was driving in an
SUV with his 25-year-old victim when the pair “got into an argument” around 4:30 a.m. on July 12 in the Hollywood Hills.
Prosecutors didn’t identify Megan by name when they charged Lanez, but the “WAP” singer later identified herself as the victim.
Authorities said she exited the vehicle before Lanez shot at her feet several times, wounding her.
Megan — born Megan Jovon Ruth Pete — described the terrifying attack in a video posted to her Instagram stories in late July.
“I was shot in both of my feet and I had to get surgery to get the sh— taken out, get the bullets taken out,” she said.
“It was super scary. It was like just the worst experience of my life,” she said.
“Thank God that the bullets didn’t touch bones, they didn’t break tendons,” she explained. “Where the bullets hit at, it missed everything.”
Megan didn’t elaborate on the argument that led up to the shooting but told GQ in an article published Monday that she never got physical and was trying to walk away when she was wounded.
“Like, I never put my hands on nobody,” she told GQ. “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.”
She said Lanez offered her money to stay silent about the incident, a claim his lawyer denies.
During the hearing Wednesday, Holley asked the judge for clarification on the terms of the restraining order that prohibits Lanez from contacting Megan directly or through a third party, such as social media or possibly even his music, the courtroom source said.
Holley said both her client and Megan are famous entertainers with millions of social media followers — and she feared Megan’s public comments could harm Lanez’s ability to get a fair trial if he’s not able to defend himself in a similar public forum.
She said Lanez wants to be in compliance with the court order but finds himself in a difficult position, the source said.
The judge said any issue or questions about the restraining order should be addressed in the form of a written motion.