Canada’s Tory Lanez pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges stemming from the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion on July 12.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey tweeted: “Rap artist charged with assault of woman in Hollywood Hills pleaded not guilty today. He is due back in court on 1/20.”
Lanez, a Brampton, Ont. native whose real name is Daystar Peterson, was charged early last month with assault with a firearm and carrying a loaded and unregistered firearm. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 22 years and eight months in prison.
On Oct. 13, Lanez was ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from Megan.
In the new issue of GQ, Megan alleged Lanez offered her and her friend money to stay quiet about what happened. “I'm thinking, ‘I can't believe you even think I want to take some money. Like, you just shot me,’” she said. (According to GQ, a lawyer for Lanez denied he offered cash to Megan or her friend.)
Police in L.A. responding to a 911 call stopped the SUV that Stallion was in with Lanez and two others at around 4:30 a.m. Lanez was arrested on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon.
Initial reports said Megan suffered cuts to her foot from broken glass but, a few days later, she took to social media to say she “suffered gun shot wounds, as a result of a crime that was committed against me." She did not name the alleged shooter.
Then, in September, Megan publicly pointed the finger at Lanez.
“Tory shot me,” she said during an Instagram Live. “You shot me and you got your publicist and your people going to these blogs lying and s**t.”
Megan recalled she was in the SUV with a female friend, Lanez and his bodyguard. An argument broke out and Megan, who was in the front seat and only five minutes from home, decided to get out. She said Lanez, “from out the backseat of the car starts shooting me.”
Lanez addressed the incident in a track titled “Money Over Fallouts.”
He raps: “Megan people trying to frame me for a shooting / But them boys ain’t clean enough / I see how they teaming up, watching and I’m calculating / Gotta keep it quiet, I can’t jeopardize the outcome waiting.”
Later, he raps: “I would never put you in no danger / and if I did you would have said it when you seen the cops.”
Lanez also casts doubt on Megan’s injury. “How the f**k you get shot in your foot / don’t hit no bones or tendons?”
Last month, he tweeted “the truth will come to the light ... a charge is not a conviction . If you have supported me or meg thru this , I genuinely appreciate u .”