Content warning: This article discusses alleged violence against women
As the legal battles between rappers Tory Lanez and Megan Thee Stallion continue, the Canadian rapper found himself arrested today after a Los Angeles judge found he had broken the protective orders in place to protect Megan in his felony assault case.
Lanez – legal name, Daystar Peterson – was handcuffed this week (Tuesday 5 April), and was bailed out after spending five hours in custody. According to Rolling Stone, Lanez said he ‘felt amazing’ as he departed in a waiting Lamborghini. As a result of this protective order violation, Judge David Herriford increased Lanez’s bail to USD $350,000 after it was found Lanez had broken the stipulated rules that prohibited him from contacting or harassing Megan Thee Stallion or discussing their case with outside parties.
The felony assault case has been going for almost two years now, stemming from an incident where it has been alleged that Lanez shot Megan Thee Stallion in the feet. Lanez has pleaded not guilty, with his legal team arguing that there was no contact between Lanez and YouTuber DJ Akademiks that led Akademiks to tweet back in February that Lanez’ DNA had not been found on the weapon involved in the incident.
Lanez’s legal team has also argued that Megan Thee Stallion has used her social media platform to talk about the case and in doing so, has damaged Lanez’s reputation.
On Megan Thee Stallion’s side, Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta has countered that since Akademiks weighed into the chat, the Houston rapper has been receiving ‘death threats’ and has been constantly harassed as a result of his and Lanez’s behaviour.
Back in December, a judge had heard that there was enough evidence in this case to warrant a jury being called, leading to the trial date being put in place for September 2022.
Tory Lanez was officially charged on October 8th 2020 with on count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in a ‘manner that personally inflicted great bodily injury’ and one count of carrying a concealed, loaded and unregistered firearm in a vehicle.
At this stage, he is next due in court on June 9th.
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If you or someone you know would like to speak to someone about domestic violence, please call the 1800-Respect hotline (1800 737 732) or chat online.
If you need immediate assistance, please call 000.
