Tory Lanez recently gave his first interview from prison after receiving a 10-year sentence for the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion, maintaining his claim of wrongful conviction.
He expressed his hope that someone within the justice system would reevaluate the evidence in his case and question its fairness.
Speaking to NBC News on December 18 as part of his ongoing appeal efforts, Tory Lanez, currently incarcerated at California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, California, reflected on his situation. The rapper has already served three years of his sentence and continues to assert his innocence regarding the events of 2020.
“There is definitely a very big misconception about me that seems to the public as I’m this monster,” Tory says. “I feel like I was catapulted into this poster child for the unprotection of Black women, and it’s just so unlike me. And I’ve never really had a chance to express that.”
The Canadian artist denied having any history of violence against women. “I’ve never been violent towards women,” he insists. “I would never hit a woman, let alone shoot a woman.
Despite the guilty verdicts on charges including assault with a semiautomatic weapon, personal use of a firearm, and possession of an unregistered loaded firearm in a vehicle, Tory has repeatedly declared his innocence since the incident first came to light. He also claimed that new evidence supporting him has surfaced since the trial concluded in 2022.
“I believe not only that I was wrongfully convicted, but the amount of new evidence that has emerged since that trial, I think, has been overwhelming,” he maintains.”
When asked what he would say to Megan Thee Stallion if given the opportunity, Tory said he would prefer a private conversation rather than addressing her through an interview.
“I think that I wouldn’t say something directly to her,” Tory added.
“I would like that moment to happen in person. We’ve both gone through a lot. There’s this connotation that, like I share this hatred for her, but I don’t. I’m genuinely past that. I’m at a place of healing in my life. I’m at a place of taking accountability for the things that I did wrong. And when I talk about my case, I don’t want it to be taken as me coming for her because it’s not that. I’m just asking for somebody in the system to look at my case and look at the evidence and ask if this was fair.”
He concluded by reiterating that his statements about his case are not aimed at attacking Megan but are part of his plea for fairness in reassessing his conviction.
