Tory Lanez’s sentencing for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, and hip-hop’s cycle of misogynoir

From the second Megan Thee Stallion got here ahead with the information that she was shot in 2020 — and that fellow MC Tory Lanez had fired the gun — critics have doubted her story, joked in regards to the violence she confronted, shared false details about it, and displayed outright disdain for the now 28-year-old Grammy-winning hip-hop star. Drake even launched a music that includes the lyrics “This bitch lie about getting shot but she still a stallion.” Listeners prompt this was the Canadian rapper’s not-so-subtle manner of expressing skepticism about Megan’s claims, including to the discord already surrounding the case.

In the top, the one viewers that mattered — a Los Angeles jury — believed Megan, whose given identify is Megan Pete. Lanez was discovered responsible in December 2022 of three felonies: assault with a semiautomatic firearm, discharging a firearm with gross negligence, and carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a car. While Lanez’s sentencing was scheduled for June 13, after a number of delays, the choose has as soon as once more pushed scheduling. Lanez will now be sentenced on August 7.

Prosecutors have sought 13 years for Lanez, alleging that, following the shooting, he led a marketing campaign to terrorize the rapper behind “Savage,” “Hot Girl Summer,” and different hits. A submitting this June accused Lanez and rapper DaBaby of allegedly planning to “ambush” Megan onstage at a music competition, which left her “fearful” for her security. Lanez had additionally employed a brand new authorized workforce and sought a brand new trial after his conviction, creating months of delays within the sentencing.

On July 12, 2020, after an evening of partying within the Hollywood Hills, Megan was in an SUV with Lanez, his bodyguard, and her former good friend Kelsey Nicole, when, as she informed Gayle King on CBS Mornings, an argument ensued. According to a police report from that night time, LAPD responded to a name concerning a “shots fired investigation,” and throughout the resultant visitors cease, Lanez was arrested for carrying a hid firearm. Megan, who was there throughout the arrest, was taken to the hospital since she was bleeding from her feet.

At that time, Megan didn’t inform officers that she had been shot, and the story circulating within the media was that her damage was because of stepping on shards of damaged glass. It wasn’t till three days later that Megan publicly introduced she had been shot and it wasn’t till August 20 that she publicly recognized Lanez because the perpetrator. “You shot me, and you got your publicist and your people going to these blogs, lying and s***,” she stated on Instagram Live. “Stop lying. Why lie? I don’t understand. I tried to keep the situation off the internet, but you’re dragging it.”

Since then, Megan has regularly defended herself in opposition to on-line harassment — and in opposition to a rap trade advanced that has lengthy perpetuated violence in opposition to ladies, significantly Black ladies, trans ladies, and gender-nonconforming folks. “I could have let the adversity break me, but I persevered, even as people treated my trauma like a running joke,” Megan wrote for Elle months after the decision was delivered. “It never crossed my mind that people wouldn’t believe me. Still, I knew the truth and the indisputable facts would prevail. […] When the guilty verdict came on Dec. 23, 2022, it was more than just vindication for me, it was a victory for every woman who has ever been shamed, dismissed, and blamed for a violent crime committed against them.”

News shops obtained the medical report that paperwork the presence of bullet fragments in her ft, and screenshots of text messages by which Kelsey Nicole informed the bodyguard “Tory shot Meg.” Megan has shared graphic pictures of her accidents and screenshots of textual content messages by which Lanez apologizes to her for an unspecified incident. Lanez, whom the LA district lawyer has charged with felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm, amongst different felony costs, has denied any wrongdoing and launched an album with lyrics claiming his innocence in September 2020. In October 2022, he was positioned below home arrest for allegedly assaulting singer August Alsina. Lanez faces as much as 22 years and eight months in jail if a jury finds him responsible of assaulting Megan Thee Stallion with a firearm.

Megan’s supporters say the case highlights the routine violence that Black ladies face, along with being ridiculed and not believed if they arrive ahead. (According to a 2011 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4 in 10 Black ladies have been stalked, overwhelmed, or raped by an intimate accomplice. Among feminine homicides not linked to intimate companions, Black ladies are considerably extra doubtless than white ladies to be killed by an acquaintance.) Lanez’s protectors recommend that he’s the sufferer of a purported scheme to “bring down” Black males, a freighted cost that may turn out to be pernicious when used to silence Black ladies. As the trial in opposition to Lanez will get underway, I reached out to Treva Lindsey, a professor within the ladies’s, gender, and sexuality research division at Ohio State University and writer of the current guide America, Goddam: Violence, Black Women, and the Struggle for Justice.

Lindsey and I mentioned how misogynoir — the distinctive hatred that Black ladies face — has mixed with the tradition of violence within the rap music trade to create a “both sides” narrative across the hurt Megan has needed to navigate, how stereotypes about Black ladies are getting used, and how Megan’s trauma has been policed. We additionally talked about how a rumor of an intimate relationship with Lanez has been used to undermine Megan’s story (she has denied ever being sexually concerned with Lanez), what the position is for the legal authorized system in doling out “justice” between former mates, and what the result of this case and the general public response to it is going to say about the place America stands in terms of ending violence in opposition to ladies within the post-Me Too period.

The jokes and memes about what occurred that night time appear endless, and all of them appear to be directed at Megan in an effort to mock or discredit her. On a podcast, former actuality TV star Draya Michele stated, “I want you to like me so much you shoot me in the foot too […] This shit is fun.” A number of days after the incident, Chrissy Teigen tweeted, “I have a megan thee stallion joke but it needs to be twerked on.” Rapper 50 Cent shared a number of memes that made gentle of the alleged assault. Rapper Cam’ron shared a transphobic “joke” on Instagram. Random Twitter customers started seizing on a story that Lanez “set the tone for the summer.” What has your response been to all of this since information in regards to the shooting started to flow into in July 2020?

My first response was shock and unhappiness. Megan had already been via a lot publicly, from the continuing points together with her label to the loss of her mom and grandmother. It made me very unhappy as a result of not solely was she harmed, based mostly on the pictures of her ft, however I additionally acknowledged that this was taking place at a vital second in her profession. She had a loyal fan base and was gaining mainstream reputation, however then all of a sudden, this violent interplay occurred.

When these moments occur, whether or not it’s Drake or DJ Akademiks, I all the time take into consideration how there’s the choice to say nothing. In this race to be in proximity to somebody who’s been accused of hurt, it looks like there’s an intensification of safety round them and much less and much less round her.

Since Megan got here ahead, she has confronted fixed skepticism and criticism. People on-line doubted her story and criticized her for the alternatives she made that night time, most notably her resolution to not initially inform the police that Tory Lanez shot her. Critics have used this element to attempt to discredit her. Megan has defined repeatedly that she didn’t initially inform the police in regards to the shooting as a result of she feared for the lives of everybody within the automobile. Why would Megan, who had simply been shot, not select to inform the police that Tory Lanez assaulted her? And how is that this related to the stress Black ladies really feel to guard Black males, even those who hurt them?

In situations of intimate violence, most survivors don’t come ahead. And given what was taking place in 2020 [with police violence against Black Americans], it wasn’t surprising that Megan didn’t inform cops within the second {that a} crime was dedicated in opposition to her. She in the end wished to guard everybody on the scene. And even with out that 2020 backdrop, that’s usually the selection that Black ladies make in terms of intimate encounters with violence.

When the incident occurred, it was solely a pair of months after the homicide of George Floyd, which set off mass uprisings around the globe. There was additionally nonstop speak about what the police did to Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade and different folks harmed by the police since May 2020. This is all vital context that helps us perceive what Megan meant when she stated she felt that she was defending all people on the scene by not saying precisely what occurred and, extra importantly, who enacted violence on her.

In my guide America Goddam, I speak about this notion of “silently endure, unequivocally protect” that Black ladies face. So many of us imbibe that mantra very early — that it’s our obligation to guard those that hurt us, particularly if it’s somebody we care about that we don’t need one other type of hurt to occur to them. Megan embodied this concept when she didn’t say something that night time; she didn’t need the police to hurt them. I’m accustomed to Megan’s rationale, however for some others, it grew to become fodder to name her a liar, denigrate her, or faucet into this deep distrust and hatred that so many individuals have for Black ladies.

It seems that the one cause Megan got here ahead in August 2020 to call Tory Lanez was as a result of he and his workforce stored allegedly publicly mendacity in regards to the state of affairs, she stated in tweets. But as you said, most survivors don’t come ahead to speak in regards to the violence they expertise, and after they do, they usually face further hurt.

Can you touch upon what it has meant for Megan, a younger Black girl, to really come ahead and converse her reality, to unequivocally say that she was shot by a recent and former good friend, by a Black man within the music trade?

Thank you for saying “young Black woman” as a result of Megan is, in truth, a younger Black girl.

There’s a manner that we frequently speak about Megan and different younger Black ladies — we speak about their our bodies and stature in a manner that blinds us to the truth that it is a 27-year-old Black girl who was 25 on the time that this occurred. Some of this has to do with sizeism, and she is considered as an unattainable sufferer. She has a persona as “Thee Stallion,” is assertive, dynamic, a “take control” particular person, and she’s the “hot girl coach,” so she’s not allowed any vulnerability. There’s no sense of needing to guard Megan.

I can’t think about the fortitude that it took for Megan to go on Instagram Live that day, of all locations — not conventional media the place the narrative might’ve been managed — to say out of her mouth, “This man shot me,” and, “I was trying to spare him and y’all are not sparing me.” As a lot as I used to be indignant, it was heartbreaking that she felt the necessity to defend him but additionally needed to defend herself after saying she was the one who was harmed. For all the oldsters who’re saying it was a clout-chasing transfer, it’s attention-grabbing to have a look at that timeline and see that she was countering a story that started to type within the aftermath.

Can you speak about what it means for ladies, significantly Black ladies, to not be believed regardless of all of the proof that helps their tales of abuse?

This case is a thoughts journey in some ways as a result of, it doesn’t matter what occurs inside the legal authorized system, Megan can be blamed. If Tory is discovered responsible, she’ll be blamed for going via with the declare, and if he’s discovered not responsible, then she can be known as a liar. There’s no floor by which she wins. And on the finish of the day, she has already been shot, so she has already misplaced irrespective of the result. There’s no actual justice for that having occurred to her. Justice is when that doesn’t occur to her, after we create the circumstances by which that interplay doesn’t occur within the first place.

It took 30 years of severe allegations in opposition to Robert Kelly to even have the legal authorized system reply. And after on a regular basis it took, there have been individuals who stated, “I’m still not sure. This seems like a setup.” I’m considering of that case alongside what occurs when somebody accuses any well-known particular person.

This can be taking place at what appears to be a turning level in Tory’s profession as properly, so some are suggesting that he’s being introduced down and being focused — that Black males are being focused by the legal authorized system and that Black ladies are henchwomen for white supremacy and the way it operates inside this. Megan is contending with a really fraught historical past that’s undeniably difficult as a result of there completely are Black males who’ve been falsely accused. Black ladies have been alongside Black males protesting and rallying in opposition to that. Megan is contending with that historical past and the ache of what it means to be this public about what occurred, to be believed by some and not believed by others, and having to depend on the legal authorized system that very hardly ever offers justice for any Black particular person, and definitely not for Black ladies.

Can you speak about how intercourse is being utilized in on-line discourse about this case? At one level, Lanez tweeted that he was sleeping with each Megan and her former good friend Kelsey Nicole, who was current that night time. Megan has denied ever being intimately concerned with Tory Lanez and defined that they grew to become shut mates who bonded over the deaths of their moms.

Some hip-hop followers have used the concept Megan was sexually intimate with Lanez to play into stereotypes and narratives about feminine jealousy and Black ladies’s sexuality. In a music, Rapper DaBaby, who joked about Megan being shot and has supported Lanez, claimed that he slept with Megan the night time earlier than Lanez allegedly shot her. Why do commentators continually deliver up Megan’s intercourse life, and apparently unfold misinformation about it, within the context of this case?

There are two issues taking place right here, and they return to who folks imagine Megan to be based mostly on her persona. She is overtly excited and express about her sexuality. Her persona is sexualized, and it’s extra excessive when mixed with the ways in which Black ladies are already hypersexualized. Black ladies are sometimes seen as intercourse objects and are regarded as pervasively sexually violated. Quite a bit will get projected onto Black ladies — our sexuality is villainized, it’s seen as too lascivious, and in some methods it’s criminalized. Because critics see [Megan] as hypersexual, it’s straightforward for them to imagine that Tory slept with each of these ladies and that it is a lover’s spat.

The laborious half in responding to that’s, let’s say that that’s true, which brings me to my second level. Let’s really say that that’s what occurred, that Tory was sexually concerned with each ladies. In what world is it then okay for Tory to allegedly shoot [Megan]? This is the best way that misogynoir operates. It’s a vicious form of distrust and hatred. It makes folks imagine that [Tory] is credible as a result of we’ve already learn [Megan] as hypersexualized and somebody undeserving of care and unworthy of being protected in these moments. There’s a really actual mixture of slut-shaming and victim-blaming that’s taking place on this case, as properly.

Megan can be being scrutinized. Whether it’s the pause she took earlier than she answered Gayle King’s query about whether or not she was intimate with Tory Lanez or folks questioning why she was on the quilt of Forbes or why she wrote an op-ed within the New York Times or why she went out partying “too soon” after she was shot, her each transfer previously two years appears to be watched and policed. Can you speak in regards to the stage of scrutiny she’s been receiving since she made the allegations?

The criticism she acquired for pausing after Gayle requested her that query is an prolonged metaphor. Why can’t she have a pause? Can she have a second? Everything she’s doing at this second is being examined. She’s not the one on trial. She’s not the one which’s being introduced earlier than the legal authorized system. He is. And but, each single motion, blink, gesture, or resolution that she is making is below this very highly effective microscope has the power to reshape the narrative.

The pause in that second, I believe she may need simply been caught off guard by the query. And having to reveal your sexual life — it truly is nobody’s enterprise. Because even when she had been intimately concerned with Tory, even when she had stated sure, there’s nothing that modifications about what that violation is. And had she stated sure, that will have been a affirmation for people of all of these different narratives that she’s jealous and mendacity. The conundrum that lots of Black ladies victims and survivors of intimate violence face is that, irrespective of the result, they may perpetually be below this microscope. And not solely that, people will make jokes, and malign and vilify these ladies to make these ladies those who’re accountable for hurt, and not the one who harmed them.

I’d like to speak a little bit extra in regards to the stereotypes about Black ladies that we’ve seen emerge on this case which are being put onto Megan. We’ve already talked about some of them, like Black ladies as hypersexual jezebels. And then there’s additionally the concept she is aggressive and indignant, aided by her “Black” facial options and pores and skin complexion. I’ve seen folks argue that Megan needed to have executed one thing to impress Tory, whether or not that was to hit him or berate him. Megan has even needed to come out and say she didn’t first assault Tory that night time. How has this stereotype factored into how this case is being handled?

The stereotypes abound on this case. It’s a horrible storm of these racialized gender stereotypes of Black ladies. It’s about her measurement, Blackness, and womanhood which are being placed on show right here and getting used to say that she is the aggressor. We heard that with Chris Brown and Rihanna — that as a result of she’s a West Indian girl, she needed to have been beating on him first. With Megan, we’ve heard the “she’s so big and he’s so small” narrative that performs into this physicality argument that’s being made about her. Even together with her saying that is what occurred that night, folks latch onto these problematic narratives which are rooted in stereotypes that Black ladies are loud, indignant, and they put their arms on you. People have claimed that Tory was simply defending himself. These stereotypes about Black ladies endure, and there’s no grace or compassion.

And there’s no sense that Tory may very well be mendacity. We don’t actually have a framing or a time period for how we take into consideration mistrust of males in the best way that we do for ladies. There is that this framing of ladies as irrational and emotional, which is considered as a unfavourable. At the identical time, it’s unattainable for most of the people to think about Tory having an emotional response that night time and appearing out of that emotional response. His emotionality isn’t placed on trial. No one is admittedly asking, why do you assume the gun even got here out? Or what does it imply for him to be in that area? What is the emotional geography of what occurred in that automobile?

And in occupied with Tory’s emotional response in that manner, it looks like the general public additionally doesn’t have the vary to fathom that such violence might have really occurred to Megan. It appears that individuals can’t course of or aren’t even making an attempt to course of the allegation that somebody might have simply pulled a gun out and shot at one other particular person’s ft, saying “Dance, bitch!” in response to an LAPD detective. This, regardless of the numerous examples of this sort of violence happening in opposition to Black ladies and regardless of Megan exhibiting pictures of her foot with bullet fragments, amongst different proof that’s thus far obtainable to the general public. What do you make of that?

When I speak to folks in regards to the information across the prevalence and pervasiveness of violence in opposition to Black ladies, their jaws drop as a result of they don’t actually conceive of it as an on a regular basis prevalence. But it’s one thing that’s a component of so many Black ladies’s experiences that it turns into very straightforward to dismiss this case as spectacular. And in order that they deal with it as one thing to decide on a aspect on. That’s a misguided method as a result of the aspect that all of us should be on is ending interpersonal and intimate violence. We don’t need anybody harmed. And there are extra layers to this; not solely are some folks saying Tory wasn’t the one to hurt Megan, however they’re additionally saying she simply wasn’t harmed in any respect.

Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

The broad consideration right here is that 40 p.c of Black ladies in some unspecified time in the future of their lifetime will expertise some type of bodily violence, very often in an intimate or interpersonal context. That is a major quantity. Megan has now turn out to be half of a membership nobody needs to belong to — the membership of hundreds of thousands of Black ladies traditionally and contemporarily who’ve confronted non-fatal assaults, and in some instances deadly assaults. I believe getting folks to know the gravity of this drawback, the fact of interpersonal violence, and its frequency is a crucial half of this work.

This case comes at an attention-grabbing time in our nation, by which Me Too backlash is actual. What last ideas are you able to share with us about the place we’re as a tradition in terms of violence in opposition to ladies and violence in opposition to Black ladies? And what may this case’s consequence imply for discourse going ahead?

It’s vital to notice that these are artists of a specific technology, so every little thing is on-line. Megan got here ahead with what occurred to her on Instagram Live. That is a marker of the instances. This can be taking place post-Me Too, so of course there may be backlash and the concept we’ve got gone too far. We are seeing that retrenchment in actual time, and it’s occurring alongside the expansion of incel actions. We are likely to assume of that motion as white, however we’re seeing Black males in these areas who’re dedicated to this hatred of Black ladies and ladies extra broadly. This case sits at a nexus of these varied actions, each progressive and regressive colliding. The consequence of this case and the responses to it is going to inform us much more about the place we’re and what it means to go ahead.

Watching this case unfold, I’m positive it’s solely made Black ladies and women much less assured of coming ahead given what’s at stake. But this may additionally transfer some ladies to come back ahead, since Megan got here ahead regardless of the onslaught she has confronted. Those are each potential. The consequence of this case may even additional reveal our very ambivalent and difficult relationship with the legal authorized system, responsible or not responsible. The manner we reply on this second could be very telling. There is a selective manner that we cope with the legal authorized system after we need it to dole out what we imagine is justice. Because there’s a Black particular person on each side of this, the religion we’ve got and the shortage of religion we’ve got within the legal authorized system can be placed on show in a really sturdy manner.

Update, June 13, 5 pm ET: This story was initially printed on December 22, 2022, and has been up to date to replicate Tory Lanez’s conviction on three felony counts in reference to the case, in addition to Megan Thee Stallion’s statements following the conviction.