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blowflyfag · 22 days

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SPARK OF SOMETHING SPECIAL

THE RISE OF THE AMERICAN JOSHI PROMOTION

As Japanese women’s promotions continue to gain influence worldwide, joshi-inspired companies have begun popping up around the U.S. In this feature story, PWI helps explain the growing phenomenon

TEXT BY KAREN PETERSON

PHOTOS BY JORDAN WILLIAMS

[Maya Yukihi, a two-time former champion of the Ice Ribbon promotion, twists the limbs of COLOR’s leader SAKI. This meeting in Orlando marked the very first singles bout between the two.]

OVER EIGHT YEARS of working the Japanese independent circuit contemporaneously, Maya Yukihi and SAKI have crossed paths numerous times. With showcase matches at Pro Wrestling NOAH and All Japan Pro Wrestling, competing in Stardom’s 2023 Triangle Derby, and working at multiple women’s promotions in Japan, they’d never faced off in a one-on-one bout. However, that changed on October 14, at the Englewood Neighborhood Center in Orlando, Florida, where these world-renowned freelance wrestlers finally locked horns in a main-event singles match for the inaugural SPARK Joshi Atlantic championship. “We’ve wrestled plenty of times, but always in tag and three-person matches,” Yukihi said enthusiastically. “I didn’t expect this to happen in the united states!”

The North American scene, in particular, has seen a significant uptick in Japanese wrestlers exploring the international wrestling landscape with fly-ins for single commitments, while others gain notoriety by making frequent visits to various North American and European promotions. Showcase tournaments such as the Mae Young Classic and the success of Japanese stars in WWE and All Elite Wrestling have served as the gateway for many to begin exploring their options outside the big companies.

American independent promotions–GCW, Deadlock Pro, West Coast Pro, and Prestige Wrestling, to name a few–have showcased Japanese talent, further contributing to the interest and continued success of the Japanese women’s wrestling scene. Even legends including Chigusa Nagayo, Bull Nakano, and Manami Toyota have all worked with international promotions to help make joshi more accessible across the board.

[“If wrestling in Japan isn’t a goal, I would question your intentions as a wrestler.” Thus says Australia native KZT, seen here making good use of her jiu-jitsu skills against Kelsey Raegan.]

The diversity in the North American independent scene isn’t just minted to athletes from Japan, as many wrestlers have relocated to the United States to hone their craft or work in backstage capacities. While she competes for WOW Superheros as Exodus, works behind the scenes t a major American promotion, and frequents East Coast outfits including GCW and frequents East Coast outfits including GCW, and DPW, KZT is an Australia-born wrestler based in Orlando with a full plate and an even bigger bucket list. “Wrestling in Japan is an absolute goal of mine. If wrestling in Japan isn’t a goal, I would question your intentions as a wrestler,” KZT mused, looking back at a recent work trip to the country.

When asked for her thoughts on being an Australian working in an American-based Japanese-inspired promotion in SPARK, she smiled. “It pretty much goes in line with who I am as a person,” explained KZT, who showed off her jiu-jitsu skills against Flordia mainstay Kelsey Raegan. “People always assume some things about me, but as soon as I open my mouth, they notice my Australian accent, and they find out things like I’m a black belt. I’ve never been one to fit in.”

For many wrestlers, making the journey to Japan–even for one single match–remains a bucket list item, as trying to find a foothold within the competitive market can be rather challenging. Founded in 2023, SPARK Joshi Puroresu of America is one of the latest showcase promotions to further expand opportunities for Women’s wrestling–and specifically, for wrestling on an international level.

The existence of Japanese-inspired wrestling promotions, such as Kitsune Women’s Wrestling and SPARK Joshi Puroresu of America, has inspired excitement among fans and wrestlers alike. These leagues provide another avenue for fans to experience Japanese wrestling without the international airfare; offer Japanese competitors chances to experience the international fan response while wrestling deserve opponents from around the world; and serve as a potential proving ground for talent interested in achieving the elusive dream of wrestling in Japan.

“When [SPARK] contacted me, I [realized] that this is something that I can bring my British skills to, plus what I learned in Japan. Said Xia Brookside, just prior to her title bout with SPARK Joshi Pacific champion Ram Kaichow. “And with all the talented women here, we can show an American audience what women wrestlers are made of.”

Brookside, a former member of the NXT U.K. roster, made her Japanese debut with Stardom at 18 years old. Now 25, the daughter of retired British grappler Robbie Brookside has completed five tours in Japan. Her most recent excursion was for the Triangle Derby in January 2023, when she completed as part of Mina Shirakawa’s unit, Club Venus.

[Maika Ozaki applies a camel clutch to Amber Nova during their encounter at RISING HEAT East.]

For Japanese natives performing outside of their home country, one of the biggest eye-openers tends to be the energy of the international crowd–especially how vocal fans are with their opinions and expressions. Typically, Japanese audiences don’t break into song, rounds of chanting, or candidly express their opinions. However, the overall positive energy is definitely not lost in translation. “Because we’re in America, I was curious what the atmosphere would be like,” confessed Miu Wantanaabe, a popular member of the TJPW roster who has only wrestled internationally a handful of times. “The fans know and love Japanese wrestling, so it made me so happy.” In her victory over IMPACT’s KiLynn King, Wantanabe put her strength and power to the test, refusing to let the language barrier impede her performance.

One of the clear advantages of SPARK and similar promotions is the shared enthusiasm to pay homage to Japanese wrestling traditions, but to present them in a way that is more accessible to the non-Japanese speaking market. SPARK showrunner Chibi (C.B.) joins with inaugural SPARK Atlantic champion SAKI (founder of freelance group COLOR’S) to open and close each show with a self-produced, Japanese pop-inspired theme song called “ZA SUPAAKU” (“THE SPARK”).”I was able to come to the United States for the first time with the advent of SPARK Joshi,” SAKI told PWI, after defeating Maya Ykihi in the main event of RISING HEAT EAST in Orlando. “So, I want to do my best to help take the company to new highs.”

[Xia Brookside struggles to break free of Ram Kaichow’s grip during an unsuccessful bid for the SPARK Joshi Pacific title.]

[SAKI, as the newly crowned SPARK Joshi Atlantic champion, closed out RISING HEAT EAST on a high note.

MODERN MYTH PHOTOGRAPHY]

With the various women’s promotions in Japan opening their doors to more international wrestlers, promotions such as SPARK offer opportunities for American prospects to build rapport with potential future colleagues, while also gaining a career understanding of what they should expect when they touch down in Japan (should they choose to pursue that). “It’s a dream come true,” said Texas native Jessie Elaban. “I wanted to bring everything that I learned in Japan to the States.”

Elaban, who formerly competed for NXT under the name Jessi Kamea, also joined Mina Shirakawa’s Club Venus stable during a 2023 Stardom stint. In a conversation after the show, she seemed grateful for the dynamic new platform in SPARK. “I am having to make adjustments between Japanese and American styles,” admitted Elaban. “But I feel like I'm able to be more fluid with the new me.”

In addition to helping talent grow and prosper, proliferation of American international leagues is an obvious benefit for fans of exciting, athletic, and hard-hitting wrestling. Promotions such as SPARK and Kitsune–and Sukeban, which filmed a colorful TV pilot this past September in New York City–have captured the imaginations of those who stream joshi shows and covet chances to see their favorite ring performers mix it up in person.

With the global presence of joshi continuing to mount, the future is bright for women’s wrestling. And, with the ever-increasing interest in Japanese wrestling, forbidden doors are getting kicked open around the world.

[SPARK Joshi offered Florida wrestling enthusiasts appearances by Tokyo Joshi Pro standouts Miu Wantananbe (left, victorious over KiLynn King) and Miyu Yamashita (inset, landing a hard strike to Jessie Elaban.)

MODERN MYTH PHOTOGRAPHY]

#joshi #pwi #pro wrestling illustrated #magazine scan #magazine transcript

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fanficsiwillneverwrite · 1 year

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Where Everybody Knows Your Name

The lights are bright. The room is quiet–not silent, just quiet. Pipes and ghosts, and everything in between, make sure he is haunted by sound for the rest of his days, however long he has left. Sam Malone, merely a caricature of the man he once was, stands before the bar, a towel dangling from his shoulder as he fills up the first cup of the evening: beer, for his longest, most loyal customer. And as if taking his cue, he enters the bar with a scuttle of a drunk old man overstimulated, overtired by the weight of life.

“Afternoon Sammy.”

“Norm!” Sam cries–Sam greets, his voice echoing in the quietude. A formality, a habit to honor what once was. They spent their lives in reruns, the same gestures, the same patterns of a younger day.

He slides the glass over to Norm’s spot; Norm catches it before it slides off the bar top, and he sits in his designated mark.

“How’s life treating you, Norm?”

He drinks before he speaks. “Like it caught me in bed with its wife.”

These lines have been spoken before. This moment is in syndication. And they are old now, beyond primetime. Norm sits drinking his beer as Sam begins washing glasses. A moment of content quietness looms between them before the door opens again and Tatum–the only waitress now at Cheers–hurries inside.

“I know, I know! I’m late.” Twenty-five with bleached hair, bright pink lip gloss and a skin tight top, she’s thirty years too late for Sam to call her, “Babe.” He settles now on, “Kid.”

“You’re fine,” assures Sam, already pouring her a cup of coffee. Cheers is not the hot spot it once was in its glory years, so a late waitress is the least of his worries. She places her bag on the counter and he hands her the cup.

“I was up studying again,” she says. “I guess I forgot to set my alarm.”

“It’s okay,” assures Sam again.

“I just want Friday to be over already,” she says, sipping her coffee.

“You’ll knock that bar exam right out of the park, kiddo.”

“Yeah,” Norm chimes in, “third time’s the charm, right?”

Sam points in agreement. She failed the last two tries, but he admires the kid’s dedication. She’ll make one heck of a lawyer, someday.

The door opens and Cliff enters with a few old men following close behind–not quite regulars, not quite strangers. Cheers won’t get much livelier than this in the coming hours. In the coming months. In the coming years. Cliff and them part at the bottom step with Cliff heading for the bar and the older men finding a seat near the window.

“Hey-ya, everybody,” Cliff greets.

“Hey Cliffy,” says Sam. He moves to pour him a beer as Carson emerges from the back office. She’s the same age as Tatum, slightly younger; they grew up together. Practically sisters. The story’s the same; they just recast a few characters along the way, that’s all. Tatum moves to wait on the men near the window.

Norm takes a big gulp of his beer, finishing it and already in need of another one. Carson, now behind the bar, refills his glass. “Hey, what’re you gonna do when she does finally pass that exam?” he asks Sam.

The front door opens again and a few more elderly white men totter inside. They find their place at the back of the bar. Sam greets them with a mechanical wave. He takes the towel from his shoulder and begins wiping down the counter. “Whaddya mean, ‘what am I gonna do?’” he says, his focus on the spot before him. “We’ll celebrate or something.”

“Well, you know, Sammy, she passes that exam and you’re out a barmaid,” says Cliff seriously.

“They’re right…” agrees Carson, but stops and turns to Cliff. “They’re not barmaids, Cliff,” she pauses to scold him before continuing the conversation: “I’ll put the ‘Help Wanted’ sign back on the window. Post about it online.”

“Sweetheart,” Sam tells her , his hand gently holding her shoulder, “let’s not think so far ahead. All right?” He opens a bottle of water and sips it.

“She’s gonna pass this time,” Carson insists.

“I know, I know,” he says, avoiding her eyes. He moves slightly away from her. “I just think maybe we shouldn’t be so quick about hiring a replacement.” Tatum returns with orders. Sam begins preparing the drinks while Carson remains unmoving. “There’s no need,” he adds with a shrug.

“No need?” she echoes.

“Look at this place: it’s… it’s practically a retirement home,” he tells her quietly.

They both glance at the people around them, all silver haired, aging with wrinkles and hair loss, much like Sam. “Okay, so it’s a little ancient…”

“Woah, hey,” Norm interrupts. He’s finished his second glass and ready for more. Carson moves to refill it. “We prefer vintage.”

Sam decides to move the conversation along. “The point is, you should be out getting crazy, living your best life,” he tells her. He watches Tatum carry the drinks to the table. “You and Tate both. Instead, you’re here.”

She rolls her eyes. “We like being here.”

Sam sighs. Arguing gets him nowhere. “Hey, Sam, how ‘bout some nuts over here,” says the old man at the end of the bar.

“Yeah, sure,” he says, moving to serve him.

The telephone rings. “Cheers,” Carson answers. “Oh, hey. Yeah, they’re right here.” She puts the phone to her chest and speaks: “Hey Cliff–Norm, you two are living proof God has a sense of humor.”

Cliff smiles and waves just as Norm says, “Give Carla our best, would ya?”

She puts the phone back to her ear and listens to what Carla has to say. “Yeah, sure. Okay.” She extends the phone out to Sam just as he nears her. “It’s for you.”

Sam takes the phone while Carson moves to prepare more drinks. “Hey Carla,” he answers. He pauses, listening to her speak. Cliff wanders over to Norm. They greet each other with the clink of their nearly empty glasses. “Yeah, we’re all here. Okay, see you in a bit.” He hangs up the phone and turns to the two men. “That was Carla. Says she’s got a surprise. She’ll be by in a minute.”

Cliff visibly perks. “Maybe she’s finally returning my betamax I loaned her.”

Norm finishes his beer. “When did you loan her your betamax?”

He thinks for a moment. “Eh, June of 1983.”

“Oh. I hate to tell you this but I think she gave your betamax to me,” Sam says gently.

“Okay, I’ll get it back from you…”

Sam grabs his bottled water and sips it. “I… I don’t have it anymore,” he says. “I threw it out when I bought a VHS.”

“I’ll take your VHS, then.”

He nods, continuing by refilling Norm’s glass. “I’ll tell you what, Cliffy: if I find it, you can have it.”

“Thank you, Sammy.”

The front door opens slightly and Carla pokes her head in. “Are you saggy monkeys ready for this one?” Everyone’s attention turns to her as she opens the door to reveal no other than Dr. Frasier Crane, smiling from ear to ear. “Found this guy down the block.” Sam leaves the bar to greet him, a sense of nostalgic joy fluttering inside him.

“Frasier!” he greets. They shake hands, which quickly becomes a hug. Both Carson and Tatum are nearing them. “What brings you back in Boston?”

“Can’t an old barfly visit his former hangout, Sam?”

“Sure, sure…” he says, glancing behind him. Carla greets the girls before moving toward the bar. “Hey. Come meet my girls. Come meet my girls.” He moves to wrap his arms around Carson and Tatum. “This is Carson, my daughter, and her best friend Tatum.. Girls, this is Dr. Frasier Crane—he’s an old friend of mine.”

The three of them exchange variations of “hello” before Tatum is called to a table and Carson returns to tend the bar. “A daughter, Sam,” says Frasier when they’re alone. “I must say I am surprised.”

“Hey, me too,” Sam agrees, leading him to the bar. “Who knew I had it in me. Now how ‘bout a drink? What’re ya having, Frais?”

“I haven’t had a beer in ages.”

“Carson”–and his daughter looks up from what she’s doing–“get a beer for Frasier here. On the house.” He pats his friend’s back, then moves back to tend the bar.

“Gee thanks, Sam.” He pauses to take in the bar before his eyes settle on Norm and Cliff sitting side by side across from him. “My God, you two haven’t moved in thirty years. You’re in the exact same spots you were in when I left here.”

Norm and Cliff look at each other as Frasier moves to greet them. “Has it been thirty years?” questions Cliff.

“I don’t think so,” says Norm with a shake of his head. He gulps his beer. “Yeah, we’ve been sitting here long before Frasier.”

They shake hands and exchange informal greetings before Frasier settles between them. Sam observes them from behind the bar. He’s seen this episode before, a rerun–or a rewrite. Or something. He can’t put his finger on it. Carson sets Frasier’s beer down before him.

“So catch me up,” says Frasier gleefully, “on everything that's happened since I’ve been away.”

Silence—no, no, not silence: quietude looms around them as they contemplate all that’s happened to them since they parted. What have they done?

Sam leans against the bar, thinking for a moment. Finally, he has one. “Well… I had my daughter,” he says and everyone nods, “with a marriage and a divorce somewhere in between.”

“Here, I’ve got some news…” begins Cliff, giving a quick look at Carla. Sam mentally prepares for one of his famous Clavin rambles.

“Eh, shut your trap, ugly,” Carla interjects, pushing him aside to face Frasier. “What about you, Doc? What’s life been like on your end?”

“Oh, you know, just riding that endless train to nowhere. With me, my own baggage of misery.” He sips his beer. “Choo… choo.”

A pause simmers. “So, not much has changed, huh?” Norm says.

Frasier nods. The phone begins to ring.

“We’re running low on beer nuts,” says Carson nearing Sam. “I’m gonna run to the back and get more.”

Sam picks up the phone. “Okay, sweetheart,” he tells her, then addresses the caller: “Cheers.” The caller hangs up quickly. Sam shrugs, setting the phone down. Wrong number, probably.

His attention turns to Carson as she makes her way to his office. She’s him, almost an exact copy: charming in a tall, dark and beautiful kind of way, quick witted with a smile that could kill. But she’s good, kind and gentle, better than him in absolutely every way. Too precious to be spending her life in this bar, frozen in time with the rest of them.

“Hey, since everybody’s here, I have a little announcement to make…” He leans close to his friends and checks to make sure Carson’s out of ear shot. “I’m selling the bar.”

“You’re selling the bar?” exclaims Carla, and Sam shushes her, his eyes glancing at his office door. To his relief, Carson couldn’t hear her.

“Sammy, you can’t,” says Norm. Sam refills his glass with beer. “I was planning to die here.”

“You still can,” says Sam. “It’ll probably still be a bar. Just not mine.”

“Seems kind of embarrassing, doesn’t it?” reflects Norm. “To die in a stranger’s bar.”

The office door opens and Carson emerges with a bag of bar nuts. Sam quickly silences his friends and their charter. “Listen,” he says. “I haven’t told Carson yet.”

“And you shouldn’t,” says Carla. “The kid loves this bar almost as much as Norm does. And that’s saying something.”

“Yeah, Carson’ll be devastated,” agrees Cliff just as Carson enters earshot.

Sam stumbles straight as she looks at them for clarification. “Stamp prices have gone up,” he’s quick to lie. “Uncle Cliff here seems to think you won’t take it well.”

Carson moves to refill the bar nuts. “I barely even use stamps.”

“See, there you have it, Cliffy,” says Sam with a nervous laugh. Carson moves away from them again and he leans in to speak quietly: “I’m planning to tell her tonight, all right? So just keep this between us until then.” Tatum gets his attention, and he goes to help her.

“I can’t believe this,” says Frasier, his expression stuck on stunned.

“I know,” grumbles Cliff. “Barely uses stamps. What has this world come to? This generation has no respect for the postal service.” He steps aside to take a breather.

“I drank away the best years of my life here and this is how he repays me,” Norm says.

“You know, it didn’t matter what was happening in my life—whether my divorce from Lilith or my father’s recent death—I felt comfort knowing Cheers was there to… help me move forward,” says Frasier. “Even if I physically could not be at Cheers to drown my sorrows, just knowing that it was here helping some other sap with his problems made all the difference.”

“Hey, if I know Carson, and I do, she ain’t gonna let this happen,” assures Carla. “We just need to have a little faith that she talks him out of it, that’s all...”

Her voice falters when Sam returns with Carson at his side. There is a slight pause before Frasier decides to speak. “So, Carson, you work at the bar with your father?”

“No, she’s just taking drink orders because she likes it,” Carla tells him sarcastically.

“Yep, since college,” says Carson.

“Carson here graduated top of her class at UMass Boston,” boasts Sam proudly, putting his arm around her.

“Very impressive,” says Frasier. “What in?”

“Business management,” she says. “To get a better idea on how to run this place…”

Frasier fakes a smile, attempting to hide the disdain he clearly feels about the bar being put up for sale. “Is that so?” He looks at Sam, as if wanting to scold him, but hiding it behind his teeth.

Sam straightens. “You know what, honey,” he tells Carson quickly, “why don’t you help Tate with the orders. I’d like to catch up with my old friend Frasier here.”

And Carson moves away from them.

Frasier grits his teeth. “You are going to break that little girl’s heart, Sam.”

“Hey, you don’t know her. You don’t,” he says. He sips his water. “She’s a smart kid. Too smart for this place. She could be running Wall Street, if she wanted to.”

“But she wants to run Cheers,” Carla insists.

“I made up my mind, Carla,” he says.

Not wanting a fight, he heads for his office. “Look, I need to handle some bills,” he says as his excuse. “Carson, you got the bar covered? Great. Call if you need anything.”

He enters his office, slams the door shut behind him and sits at his desk. Again, stillness surrounds him, except for pipes and muffled chatter. It’s time to go, he decided about a week ago when some doddering dirtbag harassed his waitress, sent her crying to the bathroom. Carson’s more aggressive with these jerks; Tate’s a little more sensitive. He’s just been thinking a lot lately. About Carson. About his time before fatherhood—when life seemed like a big old party. He even thinks of Coach, and Rebecca. Hell… he even thinks of Diane. The glory days. When he didn’t think about things like this. When he really didn’t have to think at all. But that was then, and this is now. And now is aging, rotting within itself. His daughter deserves better.

His phone rings. “Cheers,” he answers with a sigh. Nothing, but the wind it sounds like. They’re outside or something. “Hey pal… look, I don’t have all day. Do you need something or what?” And then click. They hang up. He sets the phone down and massages his temple.

After a moment, he musters enough energy to focus on the bills. They’re not exactly underwater. Business is okay, financially speaking. Not great, just okay. The door opens and Carson stands at the threshold. “Hey, honey, everything okay?” he says without looking up.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

He stops to look at her. “What?”

She closes the door behind her. “Come on, dad. You haven’t exactly been yourself lately.”

He looks away like a stubborn child not getting his way. He returns to the bills. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t want to hire a new waitress. You’re avoiding your friends… What’s up?”

He stands. “Listen, honey…” The sound of breaking glass interrupts him, followed by a muffled cheer. He moves to open the door. “Let’s finish out the night. Then we’ll have a long discussion later. Okay?”

“Okay,” she agrees.

Tatum’s sweeping up glass when they return to the bar. “I’m sorry, Sam,” she says. “Grabbed more than I could carry.”

He takes the broom and dustpan from her and begins sweeping. Carson moves her away from the glass. “You’re okay, kid. Just take a breather.”

“Never had that problem when I was around,” Carla comments.

“Yeah, you just harassed your customers,” says Norm, which triggers a laugh from both him and Cliff.

Carla replies by smacking both their heads. Their eyes bounce as they recover from the hit.

The phone rings again and Carson goes to answer it. “Cheers.” She waits a moment, then hangs up and shrugs. “No answer.”

“That’s been happening all night,” says Sam. “Phone line must be on the fritz.”

“Eh, you should really make sure your phones are up to date, Sammy,” says Cliff. “Yeah, it’s a little known fact that—”

“Give it a rest, would ya?” interrupts Carla. “You’ve been using that line for over forty years. It’s a little known fact this! It’s a little known fact that! Nobody cared then and nobody cares now.”

“Hey Carla—Carla, remember when we had that little chat about compassion?” Sam says.

“Yeah, so?”

She looks at him with fire in her eyes and his life flashes before him. He finishes sweeping and sets the broom and dustpan aside. “Nothing. Keep it up. Keep it up.”

Carla sighs. “I’m sorry, doofus,” she tells him apathetically. “Please, what little known fact will you give us today?”

Cliff waves it off. “Eh, unimportant, Carla,” he says uncharacteristically, gesturing for Carson to refill his empty glass with beer. “You know, sometimes I think I just like to hear the sound of my own voice.”

Carla’s eyes are fierce. “No kidding.”

Sam grabs her before she commits any of the deadly sins and moves her away from him.

And the rest of the night is uneventful. The same old stuff that’s been happening for years. Norm drinks. Cliff rambles. Carla stings. Frasier vents. Everybody else molds perfectly around them. A rerun. A story told before. Laser, Tatum’s fiancé arrives around twelve: a thirty-something loser with ambitions to become a famous Twitch streamer, whatever that means. He doesn’t know what the girl sees in him.

#cheers #cheers tv show #where everybody knows your name #cheers fanfiction #fanfiction #sam malone #ted danson #carla tortelli #rhea perlman #norm peterson #george wendt #cliff clavin #john ratzenberger #frasier crane #kelsey grammer #fanfic

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cyarsk5230 · 9 months

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The hip hop community owes Megan the biggest apology and I want it LOUD.

As Tory Lanez heads to prison, hip-hop needs to have a conversation about accountability

Hip-hop should be embarrassed by its silence as Megan Thee Stallion was publicly maligned

Justin TinsleyAugust 8, 2023

After months of delays, which included swapping his legal team and attempting to remove the judge who presided over his case, rapper Tory Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the July 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.

In December 2022, Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, was found guilty on three felony counts — assault with a semiautomatic handgun, possession of a loaded, unregistered firearm, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. Prosecutors had requested Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Herriford sentence Lanez to 13 years in prison, while the rapper’s legal team asked that he be given probation or no more than three years.

After the sentencing, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón thanked Megan Thee Stallion, born Megan Pete, for her bravery.

“Over the past three years, Mr. Peterson has engaged in a pattern of conduct that was intended to intimidate Ms. Pete and silence her truths from being heard,” Gascón said. “Women, especially Black women, are afraid to report crimes like assault because they are too often not believed. I commend Megan Pete for her incredible bravery and vulnerability as she underwent months of probing investigation and court appearances where she had to relive her trauma, and the public scrutiny that followed. This case highlighted the numerous ways that our society must do better for women.”

While Lanez’s sentencing marks the end of this saga (well, until his probable forthcoming appeal is decided), this moment also illuminates another uncomfortable reality. The hip-hop community should be deeply embarrassed by the way it conducted itself during this entire ordeal. After all, the response to the shooting furthered decadeslong rhetoric about misogyny and violent masculinity that have permeated hip-hop for generations.

Megan Thee Stallion deserves peace. But like many Black women online, she isn’t getting it.Read now

Making matters worse, disinformation is a valuable currency these days. Perhaps it’s always been, but with the influx of social media, disinformation now isn’t just inaccurate, it can be deadly.

Disinformation campaigns have had books about actual U.S. history removed from shelves. It’s been a critical tool to prevent commonsense gun laws. And disinformation is why a former president of the United States can rally millions of Americans behind him on the campaign trail as federal indictments pile up in multiple states and Washington. And disinformation allowed many to believe Lanez was the victim of a witch hunt, while Megan Thee Stallion feared for her safety and suffered from anxiety and depression.

But sadly, Megan Thee Stallion isn’t unique.

A study conducted by the Institute of Women’s Policy Research revealed that nearly a third of all women will experience some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime. For Black women, that number is more than 40%. Complicating things even further are the factors that prevent many Black women from reporting their abuse: mistrust of police, protecting perpetrators, shame. Megan Thee Stallion was no different.

Jason Armond/Getty Images

After Lanez allegedly attempted to pay Megan Thee Stallion and her former friend Kelsey Harris $1 million to keep quiet, Lanez tormented Megan Thee Stallion through his music. When she sat down with broadcaster Gayle Kingon CBS Mornings in April 2022 for an interview, Lanez released a video for his song, “CAP,” in which he chopped horse legs in a not-so-subliminal taunt. Rapper DaBaby, a once frequent collaborator with Megan Thee Stallion, and Lanez reportedly attempted to “ambush” her while she was on stage at Rolling Loud in Miami in 2021, violating the protective order she had against Lanez.

Lanez and his defense attorneys accused Megan Thee Stallion of lying — while also insinuating Harris was the actual shooter — but the jury didn’t buy it, rendering a verdict in less than 10 hours. Not even the embarrassing displays from Lanez’s father outside the courtroom, blaming entertainment agency Roc Nation for Lanez’s cowardly actions, could distract from what happened and what led to that moment.

Over the past three years, hip-hop artists have largely remained quiet about the shooting. Megan Thee Stallion’s peers have either been slow to admonish Lanez, have continued to work with him, or have been reluctant to defend her. Record executive Rick Ross, who initially called out Lanezfollowing the shooting, eventually reconciled with him and invited Lanez to his car show last year. While performing the song “Litty Again” at Rolling Loud Portugal in July, Meek Mill yelled “Free Tory Lanez!” to the crowd. During the trial, DJ Akademiks published court documents and cast doubt on the validity of Megan Thee Stallion’s account to his large audience. Even rap’s biggest superstar, Drake, made light of the shooting last year on “Circo Loco,” insinuating that Megan was fabricating the entire ordeal.

Perhaps the only rapper to publicly call out Lanez, and stand by his words, is Bun B. “We have to protect our Black women, and any Black man that doesn’t feel the same way is not my brother,” the UGK legend said in December 2020.

Megan Thee Stallion’s Instagram Live marinated on my psycheRead now

Much of the conversation about the shooting and what precipitated it was fixated on who Megan Thee Stallion was romantically involved with — not why Lanez decided it was the best course of action to reportedly tell her, “Dance, b—!” while pulling the trigger multiple times. In September 2022, DaBaby claimed he was also sleeping with Megan on his track “Boogeyman” rapping, “You play with me, that s— was childish / The day before she say that Tory Lanez shot her, I was f—ing on Megan Thee Stallion / Waited to say this s— on my next album / Hit it the day before too / But I kept it playa, I ain’t say nothing ’bout it.”

Megan Thee Stallion appeared to respond to DaBaby’s blatant display of play for attention by saying she controlled her body — not Lanez, DaBaby or any other man. The irony here is that sexual relationships have historically been used as badges of honor in hip-hop, largely by men. In Megan Thee Stallion’s case, her personal life was being used as a vehicle to discredit her account of the shooting.

There are countless instances when men seek out the validation of other men, and women, particularly Black women, are the targets. That’s precisely what happened in this case, and the result is one of the ugliest stains on hip-hop’s history — though its past treatment of women is unfortunately littered with similar examples. Hip-hop has never held itself accountable for frequently disrespecting women (not to mention LGBTQ+ people), because what’s accountable isn’t always best for business.

We all watched Megan Thee Stallion have to defend herself — all while she was still grieving the losses of her great-grandmother and mother, who died within weeks of each other in 2019 (Megan said she and Lanez initially bonded over both of them losing parents). Her father died when she was 15. It was almost too much for Megan to bear.

“I don’t wanna be on this earth,” Megan Thee Stallion said during her testimony at Lanez’s trial. “I wish he woulda shot and killed me if I knew I would go through this torture.”

Her music reflected the same sentiments. “They keep sayin’ I should get help / But I don’t even know what I need,” she rapped last year on the aptly titled track “Anxiety.” “They keep sayin’ speak your truth / And at the same time say they don’t believe.”

It wasn’t until Lanez’s phone conversation with Harris while he was in jail became public that many finally began to accept what Megan has said since August 2020: Lanez shot her, and he knew he shot her.

In her victim impact statement, Megan told the court she had “not experienced a single day of peace” since the incident occurred. “He lied to anyone that would listen, and paid bloggers to disseminate false information about the case on social media. He released music videos and songs to damage my character and continue his crusade.”

Megan concluded, “For once, the defendant must be forced to face the full consequences of his heinous actions and face justice.”

‘Logged In’: Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez trial continues; Jamal Bryant tells how to get Black men to attend churchRead now

Lanez’s sentencing is some semblance of justice. Mainly for Megan, who endured the torture of public scrutiny, confronted Lanez in court, and withstood multiple delays in his sentencing.

Lanez’s life and career are on an indefinite pause. And while there is a necessary, generations-long critique of the criminal justice system and how it has preyed on Black men to be had, Lanez is guilty of a violent crime. That’s his story. That’s his reality. That’s his legacy.

Nevertheless, hip-hop’s story, reality and legacy of this saga is far from over. Hip-hop culture changed the course of history and inspired every corner of the globe. Still, when it comes to its treatment of women, hip-hop still has a lot of work to do. Women such as rapper Dee Barnes, music producer Drew Dixon, and more aren’t just survivors of abuse at the hands of powerful men such as rapper and producer Dr. Dre and record executive Russell Simmons. They represent accomplished journalists and talented executives who have had to unfairly juggle the realities of their passions and the sharp, stinging legacies of their abuse. Whether that happens with Megan Thee Stallion is anybody’s guess.

Hip-hop should be embarrassed by its conduct during this incident. It should be ashamed it largely remained silent and allowed a Black woman to be publicly maligned. Whatever conversations are had now and in the future, here’s hoping it’s rooted in the truth — no matter how uncomfortable. That’s the only way conversations can become actions and eventually tangible change.

Loving hip-hop and critiquing it isn’t just a necessary part of the culture. If the genre is to survive another 50 years, then there’s no other option.

Justin Tinsley is a senior culture writer for Andscape. He firmly believes “Cash Money Records takin’ ova for da ’99 and da 2000” is the single most impactful statement of his generation.

Sent from my iPhone

#Instagram #megan thee stallion #i’m not sad for her #i’m outraged #i’m just glad she’s in a better place now #those people can speak for themselves they know who they are #and they can go straight to hell #they will pay for their crimes #for sucking that abusers meat #I’m not sad for her #I’m outraged #I’m just glad she’s in a better place now #As always a loud and sincere fuck you to everyone who has doubted her and supported that Canadian cuntery who must not be named #Those people can speak for themselves they know who they are #And they can go straight to hell #They will pay for their crimes #She went through unnecessary trauma for two years #That’s unforgivable #Next level fuckery #That that type of ish that would lead to an episode of snapped or deadly women #once again #🖕🏿daystar Peterson #annnnn boom #just like that #may all who come against black women rot #Don’t fuck with black women #If you can’t love them then at least don’t harm them #can’t wait to see that sociopath locked up on August 7th.#can’t wait to see that sociopath locked up on august 7th #That’s a sociopath.

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cyarskj1899 · 1 year

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Men have to do better.

Hell Hath No Fury Like A Fragile Male Ego Scorned

Tory Lanez's conviction, Kanye West's cancellation and Andrew Tate's arrest prove the ego is one of the male body's most undeveloped and underworked organisms.

Chris Rock hilariously, if simplistically, summed up the perceived social edict on manhood: We’re valued primarily by the provisions we bring to the table. Financial sustainability, sexual prowess, viability as a Spades card game partner... we all harbor some degree of insecurity in our ability to perform.

Blame the patriarchy, if you will, but no man I know makes it to or through adulthood without some degree of pressure to be, well, a man. Anyone who suggests otherwise is lying — a form of insecurity itself.

But there’s a difference between having insecurities — as does every human with a pulse — and being an insecure human being. Unfortunately, men like Daystar “Tory Lanez” Peterson fit the latter bill, wearing their all-consuming insecurity like a pleather trench coat on a humid summer day.

Often, when insecurity and fragility permeate every fiber of a man’s being, it manifests itself in relatively benign behavior, like anonymously arguing with strangers in a comments section or contributing money to Candace Owens. But, in Lanez’s case, someone got shot.

The two-plus-year case of “who shot Megan Thee Stallion?” seemingly reached its denouement, at least legally, on Dec. 23 when Lanez was ultimately convicted on three felony charges because, per Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta’s closing argument, he shot Meg for attacking his fragile male ego.

“(Megan) disrespected his rapping. She’s insulting him as a rapper, and that pissed him off,” Ta said. “He had a massive ego, and he could not handle being disrespected. And how dare she have the audacity to walk away from him. So he reasserted his dominance. He was going to show her.”

It would appear that the proverbial smoking gun, which many believe sealed his conviction, was a just-released call between Lanez and Megan’s former friend Kelsey Harris, just a few hours after the Houston rapper was shot. His quotes are loaded with profanity, but let’s just say that you’d have to have attended the Jussie Smollett Academy of Quantum Leaps to hear it and still believe Lanez isn’t guilty.

You could’ve passively followed this case, as I did, and still witnessed Lanez’s wee baby energy sprinkled all over it, especially with the 2020 release of his ”DAYSTAR″ album. It at once attempted to profit from the shooting and absolve him of it. Fortunately, many music critics saw right through the desperate musical effort.

Let’s say that you, along with your former high-school classmate who went full-tilt Black Hebrew Israelite in his 20s and all the vloggers who’ve apparently been hiding their forensic science degree this whole time, started caring about Lanez out of nowhere and are still convinced that, somehow, that bullet willed itself into Megan’s foot. Try to excuse that nice thread over on Twitter with several examples of Lanez behaving like a violent little man.

Speaking of the big Smurf in the room: Lanez is, according to his arrest report, 5-foot-3. This makes him about 7 inches shorter than Meg and a likely prime candidate for lying on his online dating profile. He’s like every angry, diminutive dude you remember from school, except he managed to build a career creating bops instead of going on to get his “life revenge” on employees as a middle manager somewhere.

Indeed, it would appear that money, fame and success don’t do much to mitigate the issues of truly fragile men (see: every time DJ Akademiks gets caught on video). Lanez’s music is unlikely ever to be entered into the Library of Congress, but his career is not insignificant — he’s made Billboard Top 10 as a guest on a Jack Harlow track, along with a few joints that squeaked into the Top 50. Unfortunately, most pop star aspirants will never achieve what he has.

Musical achievements aside, Lanez’s admonishments outside his talents have done enough to damage his career and send him to the pokey. He’s now put a permanent asterisk next to his accolades that will forever read, “here is the little man who shot a woman that bruised his ego.”

Andrew Tate is another recent example of a “successful” man whose elephantine ego put him in a bad way. Best described as the noxious lovechild of Kevin Samuels and Archie Bunker, Tate has made a living commodifying rank misogyny and becoming a patron saint to incels, to the degree that dude was bounced from most social medialast year.

The 36-year-old decided to pick a Twitter fight with activist Greta Thunberg, who just stopped being a teenager on Wednesday. Tate’s tweet, in which he brags about his luxury cars and their emissions, reads like a 7-year-old running at full speed on the playground to impress a girl he likes. In what could be Twitter’s most liked clapback ever, Thunberg suggested that Tate should aspire to be a “motion in the ocean” type.

His ungodly ridiculous video response to that tweet, in which he receives pizza boxes that allegedly alerted Romanian law enforcement to his location and led to his arrest on charges of human trafficking, among other things, provides all the schadenfreude we needed to kick off a new year.

Perhaps the most egregious example I’ve seen of an unchecked fragile male ego is that of Kanye West, who now goes by Ye. We’re talking about a man considered by many to be one of hip-hop’s greatest and most influential creators; and the creator of a clothing brand that, at one point, had him rich enough to buy off Jesus. Yet he still managed to get into a public tiff with a dude 16 years his junior over dating his ex-wife. Then, when that wasn’t enough, Ye topped off his toxic behavior by spewing his antisemitic views on and off social media.

Ye’s “I never get the respect I deserve” bit was cute when he was on the come-up two decades ago, but the petulance rings tragically when you have more money and fame than 99% and a few decimal points of humans, and you’re still clawing for the imprimatur of rich, white conservatives who don’t give a damn about your Black ass.

The tragedy of it all is made even more Grecian in scope by all the folks (mostly men, but not always) who view the consequences these men receive for acting on behalf of their egos and still manage to make excuses for them.

“Everyone’s always trying to tear down a Black man!” “She shot herself!” “His mama died… his ain’t-rightness ain’t his fault!”

Yes, there’s a ton of context as to why much of this male fragility exists, especially in the Black community. Many of us came up in households and environments where we’re imbued with troubling ideas of “masculinity,” in which we’re told to solve problems with violence or negativity. Too many of us carry that into adulthood and take folks like Dr. Umar Johnson with his “alpha male” tomfoolery to heart.

I won’t pretend that the male ego is easy to check, even among the best of us. For example, my crew of best friends are all successful, formally-educated Black men with little left to prove to the world in our early 40s. But despite being emotionally self-aware and open with each other, there’s always this patina of macho male bullshit that creeps into our interactions, especially as a group.

But the thing about being a grown-ass man is the importance of taking accountability for one’s actions. Mental health and the “system” are no excuses for bad behavior. I believe therapy separates a man from his fragile ego and toxic behavior. We in the Black community are still coming around to therapy in general… especially the men. My septuagenarian Black dad from rural Louisiana was never about that therapy life, so it took me reaching my late 30s to get there.

My hope is that, as more Black Millennials birth and raise children, they will do so with less focus on antiquated modes of “masculinity,” creating fewer fragile male egos and healthier approaches to problem-solving. And I hope that, while Tory Lanez sits his dumb ass down for a few years, he can have sincere conversations with an objective professional and become a more humble, enlightened man willing to spread a new message to the masses.

Again, it’s not necessarily easy to check the male ego, but it’s never too late to try.

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90363462 · 1 year

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This made me furious all over again. We failed her. The culture failed her. We should be ashamed. The culture should be ashamed.

xoNECOLE/Culture & Entertainment/Megan Thee Stallion Shooting Timeline

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

Why We Should Support Megan Thee Stallion

A timeline of events.

Hanna Phifer

Nov. 15, 2022 02:57PM EST

Why We Should Support Megan Thee Stallion

A timeline of events.

Hanna Phifer

Nov. 15, 2022 02:57PM EST

Let’s make one thing clear, we support Black women– period. Megan Thee Stallion has become the latest example of the mistreatment Black women often face when speaking up for themselves. Since July 2020, when reports first surfaced that Megan, born Megan Pete, was allegedly shot by singer/ rapper Tory Lanez, she has had to deal with the dual trauma of the initial shooting and the subsequent harassment by Lanez, his fans, powerful people in the music industry, and the overall effort to discredit her.

Gun violence is an issue that continues to disproportionately impact Black women. According to a 2022 study, “Black women are three times more likely to be fatally shot by an intimate partner compared to white women.” (Megan has denied having an intimate relationship with Lanez.) During a particularly fraught time in hip hop, when we’ve lost so many artists to gun violence, including the recent murder of rapper Takeoff, it’s difficult to witness the continued minimizing and victim blaming of Megan by her peers in the business.

xoNecole has compiled a timeline of the events that unfolded following Megan’s shooting, including members of the industry who have seemingly undermined her story.

Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez: A Timeline of Events

July 12, 2020

Reports surfaced that Megan had been shot by an unreported assailant while with Lanez, born Daystar Peterson, his bodyguard, and Megan’s friend at the time Kelsey Nicole when leaving a party at Kylie Jenner’s house.

July 16, 2020

Tory LanezTim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

Page Six exclusively reported that Lanez had officially been named as a potential suspect in the shooting. “Tory fired the shots from within the vehicle while Megan was outside trying to leave,” a source told the outlet. “There is video and the police are investigating. This is a case of a man physically harming and abusing a woman.”

It was also reported around this time that Megan unfollowed the singer on Instagram.

July 22, 2020

Megan gets on Twitter to clap back at reality star Draya Michele who went on a podcast and suggested that Lanez and Megan “had some sort of Bobby and Whitney love that drove them down this type of road" and joked that “I want you to like me so much you shoot me in the foot too."

“Dumb bitch that shit ain’t fucking funny who tf jokes about getting shot by a nigga,” Megan tweeted.

Michele would later apologize saying that her attempt at a joke fell flat and that "I truly don’t glorify domestic violence... I was trying to say just love me deeply."

July 23, 2020

Podcaster Adam22 reports that sources told him that Megan and Lanez were in a sexual relationship and that there was a flirtation between Jenner and Lanez at the party. Their interaction reportedly caused Megan to become jealous and start “violating his ass” and “really shitting on him.”That same day, rapper Cam’ron received backlash on social media after posting a transphobic comment about Megan saying, "Tory Lanez saw that dick and started shootn..IDC what no one say."

July 28, 2020

Rapper 50 Cent issues an apology to Megan after posting a meme depicting the Grammy award-winner as the character Ricky from the film Boyz n the Hood as he’s being shot.

“��Damn I didn’t think this shit was real,🤦♂️It sounded so crazy @theestallion i’m glad your [sic] feeling better and i hope you can accept my apology. I posted a meme that was floating around. I wouldn’t have done that if i knew you was really hurt sorry. 🤷🏽♂️," he wrote.

August 19, 2020

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Megan Thee Stallion (@theestallion)

instagram

Megan posts a photo of her injured foot on Instagram in an attempt to quell rumors that she wasn’t shot.

August 21, 2020

Megan gets on IG live and confirms that Lanez allegedly shot her. “Since y’all hoes so worried ’bout it, yes, this nigga Tory shot me,” she said. “You shot me. And you got your publicist and your people going to these blogs lying and shit. Stop lying. Why lie? I don’t understand. I tried to keep the situation off the internet, but you dragging it.

She continued, “You really fucking dragging it. Motherfuckers talking about I hit this nigga. I never hit you. Motherfuckers like, ‘Oh she mad ’cause he was trying to fuck with Kylie.’ No, I wasn’t. Like, you dry shot me. Like, everybody in the car – there’s only four motherfuckers in the car: me, you, my homegirl, and your security. I get out the car, I’m done arguing. I don’t wanna argue no more. I get out, I’m walking away. This nigga, from outside the back seat of the car, start shooting me. You shot me!”

She also addressed rumors that the injury to her foot was actually caused by broken glass. “I ain’t get cut by no glass, but let me tell you why they’re saying that: the people in the neighborhood –there’s a witness – when the police came because the neighbors called the police – this did not happen at Kylie’s house.” She continued, “This happened damn near back at the house I was staying at. I was just trying to get home. We were five minutes away from my spot. The police come and I’m scared.”

“All this shit going on with the police. The police are shooting motherfuckers for anything. The police was literally killing Black people for no motherfucking reason. Soon as the police tell us all ‘Get out the motherfucking car,' the police is really aggressive,” she explained. “You think I’m bout to tell the police that we – niggas, us Black people – got a gun in the car?! You want me to tell them that we got a gun in the car so they can shoot all of us up? Nigga, I’m scared.”

Megan performs on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest and she stops mid-performance to share a message about supporting Black women. "We need to protect our Black women and love our Black women, 'cause at the end of the day, we need our Black women,” she preached.

October 3, 2020

https://www.youtube.com/embed/CTpilDQXYr0

October 8, 2020

Lanez was officially charged with one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and one count of carrying a loaded, concealed firearm in a vehicle.

October 13, 2020

Megan writes an op-ed for The New York Times titled “Why I Speak Up for Black Women.” The article states: “I was recently the victim of an act of violence by a man. After a party, I was shot twice as I walked away from him. We were not in a relationship. Truthfully, I was shocked that I ended up in that place.

My initial silence about what happened was out of fear for myself and my friends. Even as a victim, I have been met with skepticism and judgment. The way people have publicly questioned and debated whether I played a role in my own violent assault proves that my fears about discussing what happened were, unfortunately, warranted.”

October 20, 2020

Lanez gets on IG live to discuss the aftermath of the shooting and says that he still considers Megan to be a friend even if she doesn’t but that “I know what happened, and what you’re saying, what the alleged things and the alleged accusations of my name is, are not true. It’s falsified information. It’s false information.”

Megan responded on Twitter saying: “This Nigga genuinely crazy.”

November 18, 2020

Lanez pleads not guilty to both charges.

November 20, 2020

Megan’s debut album Good News is released where she addresses the shooting in the intro song “Shots Fired” with lines like “Imagine niggas lyin' 'bout shootin' a real bitch (huh?) Just to save face for rapper niggas you chill with.”

November 26, 2020

Kelsey Nicole (L) and Megan Thee Stallion (R).Screenshot from Megan Thee Stallion's "Realer" music video/ YouTube

The “Savage” artist’s former friend Kelsey Nicole, who was one of the passengers in the car the night of the shooting, released a diss track to Megan titled “Bussin Back” where she rapped “Never been a jealous friend and the people really know it/If you would'vе kept it silent then I would'vе been told it/ See I really thought I knew you, thought that you would keep it G/ If you wanna talk gangsta, bitch, I'm really from the street.”

The former besties fell out following the shooting.

October 8, 2020

Lanez was officially charged with one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and one count of carrying a loaded, concealed firearm in a vehicle.

October 13, 2020

October 20, 2020

Megan responded on Twitter saying: “This Nigga genuinely crazy.”

November 18, 2020

Lanez pleads not guilty to both charges.

November 20, 2020

June 21, 2021

Megan got into a Twitter feud with rapper and frequent collaborator DaBaby after he worked with Lanez on a new song. “Support me in private and publicly do something different…these industry men are very strange. This situation ain’t no damn “beef” and I really wish people would stop down playing it like it’s some internet shit for likes and retweets,” she tweeted.

July 20, 2021

Lanez mentioned Megan in his freestyle on Hot 97 “Megan people trying to frame me for a shooting/But them boys ain’t clean enough.”

July 25, 2021

Tory Lanez (L) and DaBaby (R) performing at Rolling Loud in Miami.Jason Koerner/Getty Images

DaBaby brings out Lanez during his Rolling Loud performance, a move that was a violation of Megan’s protective order that required the “Jerry Sprunger” singer to stay 100 ft away from her. Lanez’s bail amount increased after the violation.

August 13, 2021

Prosecutors have filed a motion to hold Lanez in contempt for violating the restraining order that was issued in his ongoing criminal case.

December 15, 2021

A judge upholds Lanez’s charges after an LAPD officer testified that he shouted “Dance, bitch!” before allegedly shooting the “Pressurelicious” artist.

February 22, 2022

Megan posts screenshots of alleged text messages on social media from what appears to be Lanez apologizing to her after the shooting; a move that was in response to him seemingly subtweeting her by writing "u can't buy and tweet your way out of this one ..not today."

March 21, 2022

Popular hip-hop blogger DJ Akademics tweeted and deleted a claim that Lanez’s DNA was not found on the weapon in the case. Megan responded on her Instagram stories saying “court ain’t even started so why yall ready to start lying.”

April 4, 2022

Lanez is arrested for violating a protective order after tweeting about Megan back in February. He was released on a $350,000 bond.

April 24, 2022

youtube

Megan appeared on CBS This Morningspeaking with Gayle King about the shooting and the events following it.

April 26, 2022

50 Cent took to Instagram to cast doubt on Megan after she said that she wasn’t in a sexual relationship with the “Luv” singer. “Now that I don’t believe, she had to think about her answer. SMH all this shit is crazy,” 50 said.

June 15, 2022

In her Rolling Stone cover, Megan addresses the shooting saying that she wants Lanez to “go under the jail,” and that “I thought everyone in the car was my friend, [and] the whole time that’s not how they thought of me.”

August 24, 2022

Lanez's lawyer drops him as a client, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The lawyer had been defending Lanez against assault allegations made by Love and Hip-Hop: Miami cast member Prince.

October 31, 2022

A judge in Los Angeles ruled that Lanez had to be placed on house arrest until the trial after Lanez was found in violation of his parole due to allegedly assaulting August Alsina in September.

November 4, 2022

On his collab album Her Loss with 21 Savage, Drake raps in the song “Circo Loco,” “This bitch lie 'bout gettin shots but she still a stallion/ She don't even get the joke but she still smilin'” a line that many people think is in reference to Megan.

The H-town rapper responded to the lyric by tweeting, “I know I’m very popular but y’all gotta stop attaching weak ass conspiracy theories in bars to my name lol Niggas nor hoes EVER address me or @ me WITH a fact or receipts. I AM CLOUT BITCH keep sucking my pussy.”

November 5, 2022

Rapper Lil Yachty — who co-wrote “Circo Loco” — said on Instagram live that the line was not a reference to Megan, but to girls who get butt injections.

November 11, 2022

An open letter signed by representative Maxine Waters, Me Too founder Tarana Burke, host Marc Lamont Hill, and other community figures was released in support of Megan saying in part “You are believed, loved, and supported.”

The trial against Lanez for assault and weapons charges begins Monday, November 28, 2022.

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Feature image by Rodin Eckenroth/ Getty Images

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xoNecole has compiled a timeline of the events that unfolded following Megan’s shooting, including members of the industry who have seemingly undermined her story.

Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez: A Timeline of Events

July 12, 2020

July 16, 2020

Tory LanezTim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

It was also reported around this time that Megan unfollowed the singer on Instagram.

July 22, 2020

“Dumb bitch that shit ain’t fucking funny who tf jokes about getting shot by a nigga,” Megan tweeted.

Michele would later apologize saying that her attempt at a joke fell flat and that "I truly don’t glorify domestic violence... I was trying to say just love me deeply."

July 23, 2020

July 28, 2020

Rapper 50 Cent issues an apology to Megan after posting a meme depicting the Grammy award-winner as the character Ricky from the film Boyz n the Hood as he’s being shot.

“👀Damn I didn’t think this shit was real,🤦♂️It sounded so crazy @theestallion i’m glad your [sic] feeling better and i hope you can accept my apology. I posted a meme that was floating around. I wouldn’t have done that if i knew you was really hurt sorry. 🤷🏽♂️," he wrote.

August 19, 2020

https://www.instagram.com/p/CjqPHRZuklI/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=4&wp=890&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.xonecole.com&rp=%2Fmegan-thee-stallion-shooting%2Faugust-21-2020#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A2497%2C%22ls%22%3A1891%2C%22le%22%3A1998%7D

Megan posts a photo of her injured foot on Instagram in an attempt to quell rumors that she wasn’t shot.

August 21, 2020

August 25, 2020

Houston legend Bun B comes out in support of his fellow hometown resident. “I know Tory, I know his manager. I know all of ‘em. Fuck all that, though. If the man on drugs, get him some goddamn rehab. If the man got mental health issues, get him some therapy,” he said.

“But you not just gon’ sit here and shoot this girl, and we not say nothin’. This shit not real. Nobody’s talking about it because it’s a Black woman… put your hands on Lady Gaga and see how quick they lock your ass up.”

September 9, 2020

TMZ reports that texts allegedly coming from Lanez show that the singer apologized to Megan while she was in the hospital. "I know u prolly never gone talk to me again, but I genuinely want u to know I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart,” read the texts. He also blamed his actions on being “too drunk.”

September 25, 2020

Lanez releases his album Daystar where he finally addresses the allegations that he shot Megan. In his song “Money Over Fallouts,” he raps lyrics like, “How the fuck you get shot in your foot, don’t hit no bones or tendons?” and “If you got shot from behind how can you identify me?”

September 29, 2020

Billboard reports that Lanez’s team posed as members of Megan’s team to plant stories that made Megan look less credible including fake text messages. Lanez’s team denies the claims.

October 8, 2020

Lanez was officially charged with one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and one count of carrying a loaded, concealed firearm in a vehicle.

October 13, 2020

July 25, 2021

Tory Lanez (L) and DaBaby (R) performing at Rolling Loud in Miami.Jason Koerner/Getty Images

August 13, 2021

Prosecutors have filed a motion to hold Lanez in contempt for violating the restraining order that was issued in his ongoing criminal case.

December 15, 2021

A judge upholds Lanez’s charges after an LAPD officer testified that he shouted “Dance, bitch!” before allegedly shooting the “Pressurelicious” artist.

February 22, 2022

March 21, 2022

April 4, 2022

Lanez is arrested for violating a protective order after tweeting about Megan back in February. He was released on a $350,000 bond.

April 24, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/embed/AtjzVI5bFao

Megan appeared on CBS This Morningspeaking with Gayle King about the shooting and the events following it.

April 26, 2022

June 15, 2022

August 24, 2022

Lanez's lawyer drops him as a client, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The lawyer had been defending Lanez against assault allegations made by Love and Hip-Hop: Miami cast member Prince.

October 31, 2022

A judge in Los Angeles ruled that Lanez had to be placed on house arrest until the trial after Lanez was found in violation of his parole due to allegedly assaulting August Alsina in September.

November 4, 2022

As always, I hope

@theestallion

has a lovely day.

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