Canadian rapper Tory Lanez shouted “dance, b**ch!” while opening fire at Megan Thee Stallion’s feet, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing on Tuesday.
Los Angeles Police Det. Ryan Stogner told the court Lanez and Stallion were inside a vehicle on July 12, 2020 with Lanez’s bodyguard and a friend of Stallion when there was an argument between the rap stars. When Stallion got out of the SUV, she was shot in the foot.
The Los Angeles Times reported that during Stogner’s testimony, Lanez “shook his head, seemingly in disgust, several times” and, at one point, shouted at him.
Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, was charged in October 2020 with assault with a firearm and possession of an unregistered gun. He pleaded not guilty the following month.
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At Tuesday’s hearing, prosecutor Kathy Ta read a transcript of a call she said Lanez made from jail to Stallion’s friend, in which he said: “I’m deeply sorry … so I feel crazy that I made a mistake. What happened, happened already. I can’t take it back. I’m just telling y’all I’m sorry.”
Lanez’s lawyer Shawn Holley said her client did not specifically apologize for the shooting during his call and questioned Stogner’s claim that Lanez said “dance, b**ch.”
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Keith Borjon upheld the charges against Lanez, who is set to return to court on Jan. 13.
The 29-year-old Ontario native faces up to 22 years and 8 months in prison.
In August, a judge ruled that Lanez violated a protective order when he appeared at July’s Rolling Loud festival in Miami Gardens, where Stallion performed. He was ordered to pay an additional $60,000 U.S. in bail, bringing the total to $250,000 U.S.