Megan Thee Stallion shares message as Tory Lanez awaits sentencing: ‘Mercy is for people who show remorse’

Rapper said that her physical absence from court ‘should be seen as her preserving her mental well-being’

Tory Lanez’s sentencing was once again delayed following his court hearing on Monday (7 August).

The Los Angeles Superior Court is waiting to see what sentence Lanez (legal name Daystar Peterson), 31, will be given after he was convicted of first-degree assault, discharge of a firearm with gross negligence and having a concealed and unregistered firearm in a vehicle in December 2022.

Megan Thee Stallion (real name Megan Pete), 28, had accused Lanez of shooting her in the foot in a July 2020 incident.

Court reporter Meghann Cuniff – who has earned the affectionate monicker “Meghann Thee Reporter” from Megan’s fans during the longwinded trial – tweeted: “Incredibly, Judge Herriford managed to not finish today... Megan did not speak in person, but she submitted a statement that DA Kathy Ta read aloud.”

According to Cuniff, the “WAP” artist said she “struggled with whether to attend in person, and her absence should be seen as her preserving her mental well-being”.

She reportedly said since Lanez shot her, “I’ve not experienced a single day of peace.” “He lied to anyone that would listen,” Megan said of Lanez.

Cuniff added: “Megan said mercy is for people who show remorse, and Lanez has shown none. She thanked the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for their support. She wants the sentence to be a message for everyone woman of violence.”

Los Angeles prosecutors are seeking a 13-year prison sentence for Lanez, who also faces deportation to his native Canada. The sentencing is now expected tomorrow (8 August), which his lawyers plan to appeal.

During the court hearing on Monday, Judge Herriford read out more than 70 letters of support Lanez had received, one of which reportedly came from Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.

Herriford reportedly told the court that Azalea’s letter asked him to impose a sentence “that is transformational, not life-destroying”.

Azalea’s representatives did not respond to The Independent’s request for comment.

Megan Thee Stallion (real name Megan Pete) testified during the trial that Lanez had shot a handgun towards the back of her feet and told her to “dance b****” after she got out of his SUV and walked away from it. The pair had left a party at Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills home.

Tory Lanez is set to be sentenced today (AP)

She required surgery to remove bullet fragments from her feet and alleged Lanez offered her $1m (£830,000) to stay quiet about the incident as he was on probation.

Lanez has been in jail since he was convicted by a jury last year.

In April, Megan – real name Megan Pete – spoke for the final time about being shot by Lanez and the public reaction to the shooting.

Explaining that she saw herself as a “survivor, because I have truly survived the unimaginable” rather than a “victim”, Megan said that she’d had to face her trauma being turned into a “running joke”.

“I understand the public intrigue, but for the sake of my mental health, I don’t plan to keep reliving the most traumatic experience of my life over and over again. I’m choosing to change the narrative because I’m more than just my trauma,” she said.