LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 02: Megan T. Stallion attends the STARZ Season 2 Premiere of ‘P-Valley’ at Avalon Hollywood and Bardot on June 02, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
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Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 02: Megan T. Stallion attends the STARZ Season 2 Premiere of ‘P-Valley’ at Avalon Hollywood and Bardot on June 02, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
Megan T. Stallion took the stand as a witness for the prosecution during singer Tory Lanez’s assault trial in Los Angeles Superior Court today. He spoke openly for the first time about the night he was accused of shooting a Houston rapper in the leg in 2020. The show’s residual effects on her career and life.
As a key witness for the prosecution, the Houston rapper, real name Megan Peet, gave her account of the night of July 12, 2020, when she was attacked by Lanez, real name Destar Peterson, and Kelsey Harris, her former best friend and assistant, as she walked home from a Hollywood Hills pool party in the early hours of the morning.
Dressed in purple, red-bottoms, black stilettos and a black bob haircut, Pete, 27, testified that the shooting and its aftermath took a toll on her physical and mental health. “I can’t even be happy,” she said, her voice breaking during her afternoon testimony. “I can’t talk to people for a long time. I don’t think I want to be on this earth. If I knew I had to go through this pain, I wish he would have shot me.”
The Grammy winner revealed that she and Peterson had a close but exclusive relationship in 2020, a relationship Harris was unaware of at the time. Pete knew Harris had a “crush” on Tori, so she hid the relationship. (When specifically asked why she didn’t disclose the nature of her relationship with Peterson, Pete said she was embarrassed, “Because at this point it’s disgusting. How could I share my body with someone who could do this to me?”)
The fight in the vehicle begins when Peterson hints at his relationship with Harris and calls the two women “women and dogs” in the car as he tries to pit the two women against each other.
Pete testified that, after she got out of the car a second time, Peterson yelled at her, “Dance, bitch,” then fired five shots from the passenger side, hitting her in the leg. “I was shocked, I was hurt. I wasn’t sure if this was really happening. I looked at my leg, I saw the blood and I fell to the ground,” the “Wap” star testified.
When asked candidly about changing her story to police the night of the shooting — from going through the glass to being shot by Peterson — she spoke about her choice this time, starting with her faith in the police.
“I don’t feel safe in the car. I don’t feel safe with the police at all,” Peet said through tears as she described the aftermath of the incident as responding officers Peterson, Harris and Jaquan Smith, Peterson’s bodyguard, exited the vehicle.
Peet, who shared that she was very skeptical of the police, said that she was more concerned about the climate of 2020, the killing of George Floyd and the vigilance of Black Lives Matter protests, saying, “In the black community — in my community — it’s really not acceptable. “In cooperation with police officers.”
Pete then briefly spoke about how “women are not believed when they speak”. Peterson’s attorney, George Magdesian, disputed that the comment was relevant to the case.
In addition to fear of the police and questions about the credibility of survivors, she shared her concern that Peterson’s injury could negatively impact her hip-hop career.
“This situation was worse for me and made it more famous,” Pitt said in his morning testimony. “Because I got shot at, I turned into a villain and he was the victim. It’s ruined my whole life… This whole thing in the industry is like a big boys’ club… I’m one of your friends that you’re going to hate now.”
Pitt testified that after she was shot, she pulled into the driveway to the left of the SUV, but eventually returned to the car. In her testimony, as the group drove off, Peterson immediately told Harris and Peet that if they didn’t tell the police, they would each be offered $1 million and that they would be on probation for a previous weapons charge. Throughout the trial, Peterson’s defense has repeatedly maintained that Peterson was never on probation.
The afternoon’s cross-examination culminated when defense attorney Magdesian testified under questioning that Pete’s career began with this shooting and even used scare quotes around the word “shooting.” “Why did you do that?” Pete asked [gestures scare quote] I’ve been shot.”
While Pete is on the stand, Peterson, dressed in a cream suit and white turtleneck, sits quietly in the defense chair, occasionally taking notes and avoiding all eye contact with her.
Later that evening, Peet shared new details about her relationship with Peterson, who continued to reach out to her to apologize following the shooting. According to Pete, he texted her from an unknown number to say he was watching her on Instagram Live and could see “the pain in my eyes.” She said, “Why are you bothering me? Why are you wondering? You just shot me and now you are looking at me?”
Social media has played an important role in fueling public debate on the issue, particularly the revelation of Pete, who Peterson said she saw on Instagram.
With each development of this case, many media personalities and outlets, especially gossip blogs, have shared unverified information that has sparked debate on social media over the veracity of both Peet’s and Peterson’s versions of events. That online public debate played out in real life as supporters of both artists flocked outside the courthouse to testify.
Peterson is facing three felony charges; Assault with a semi-automatic firearm, carrying a concealed, unregistered firearm, negligent discharge of a firearm. If convicted, Peterson could face up to 22 years in prison and/or deportation to Canada.
Kelsey Harris Wednesday, December 14, 2022
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