Featured Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images / Noam Galai/Getty Images for ABA
Topics: Megan Thee Stallion, Crime, US News, Celebrity
Ben Thompson
Topics: Megan Thee Stallion, Crime, US News, Celebrity
Tory Lanez is refusing to apologise after he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.
The Canadian artist, who was found guilty of shooting his fellow rapper in the feet in 2020, blasted the charges he was 'wrongfully convicted of'.
Lanez, 31, took to Instagram to vent: "Regardless of how they try to spin my words, I have always maintained my innocence and I always will.
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"This week in court I took responsibility for all verbal and intimate moments that I shared with the parties involved… that’s it.
"In no way shape or form was I apologizing for the charges I’m being wrongfully convicted of. I remain on the stance that I refuse to apologize for something that I did not do."
Insisting that he has 'faced adversity' his entire life, Lanez described the sentence as 'nothing but another moment where my back is against the wall'.
He committed to keep fighting until he 'came out victorious'.
Before thanking his supporters, the 'Luv' rapper said: "Tough times don't last, tough people do."
The incident took place on July 12, 2020.
Lanez and Megan were travelling back from Kylie Jenner's home when Lanez fired a gun into the back of Megan's feet and shouted for her to dance during an argument.
The star needed to undergo surgery to have the bullet fragments removed.
In December, Lanez was convicted of three felonies - assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
At his hearing, Lanez still spoke fondly of Megan as 'someone I still care about dearly to this day'.
Lanez explained: "We both lost our mothers. We would sit there and drink, and drink until we got numb."
Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, also expressed remorse for his behaviour after the shooting.
He said: "I said some very immature things that I shouldn’t have said. I revealed some secrets I shouldn’t have revealed.
"If I could turn back the series of events that night and change them, I would.
"The victim was my friend. The victim is someone I still care for to this day.
"Everything I did wrong that night, I take full responsibility for."
Lanez's legal team have confirmed that they will appeal the sentence and conviction, and will attempt to get him released on bail in the meantime.
The prosecutors had pushed for a 13-year sentence.
Lanez's lead attorney, Jose Baez said: "We’re extremely disappointed.
"I have seen vehicular homicide and other cases where there’s death, and the defendant still gets less than 10 years."
He went on to blast the sentence as an example of somebody being 'punished for their celebrity'.
LA District Attorney George Gascón read out a statement from Megan at a press conference.
It read: "Every day, I think of others across the world, or victims of violence, and survivors.
"It is truly the most powerless feeling, especially when you question whether the justice system can truly protect you.
"Fortunately, the district attorney’s office fought for me. I’m incredibly grateful to them and the jury for the attention to the evidence and siding with the truth.
"But if it can happen to me, imagine those who lack the resources and support systems."
She did not appear at the court proceedings to protect her mental health, after experiencing depression in the aftermath of the shooting.
UNILAD has reached out to representatives for Tory Lanez and Megan Thee Stallion for comment.