Megan Thee Stallion calls out 'haters' after Lanez sentencing

Megan Thee Stallion raps into a microphone on stage in a pink jumpsuit with silver accents

By Jonah ValdezStaff Writer

Aug. 15, 2023 12:41 PM PT

In her first performance since Tory Lanez got 10 years in prison for shooting her, Megan Thee Stallion seemed to address the sentencing at the Outside Lands Music Festival over the weekend.

During her set at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Sunday evening, the Grammy winner paused to speak to the crowd: “I just want to say, f— all my haters,” drawing a roar of applause and screams from the audience, according to an Instagram live video shared by her DJ, Big Jay Bone, which only showed a view of the audience from the stage.

“None of that s— you was doing or saying broke me,” the “Savage” rapper could be heard saying. After getting more cheers from festivalgoers, she called on her fan base, referred to as “Hotties.” “None of that s— y’all be doing or saying to the Hotties broke them. And I want all of the Hotties to put they m— middle fingers up right now.”

During an alcohol-fueled argument after a Hollywood Hills party in 2020, Tory Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, shot at Megan Thee Stallion, striking her several times in the feet. She had to undergo surgery to remove bullet fragments. In December, a jury convicted Peterson of assault with a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm and negligent discharge of a gun, then last week he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

After Megan Thee Stallion, whose legal name is Megan Pete, accused Peterson of the shooting, fans, social media influencers and fellow artists, including some of the biggest names in music, cast doubt on Pete’s allegations, accusing her of lying about the incident. The criticism continued until the trial. In a 2022 song by Drake and 21 Savage, “Circo Loco,” the Toronto-native rapper seemed to question Pete’s honesty by rapping, “This b— lie ’bout gettin’ shots but she still a stallion / She don’t even get the joke but she still smilin’.” Peterson also dropped a track implying the same.

To sow further doubt, Peterson’s defense attorneys insisted during the trial that the two performers had a sexual relationship in the past and said the spat was a tiff between lovers.

“This whole story has not been about the shooting. It’s only been about who I been having sex with,” Pete said during her tearful testimony on the witness stand in December. “When people talk about Megan Thee Stallion getting shot, all the headlines are Megan Thee Stallion is on trial, and I’m not on trial!”

In April, the “Sweetest Pie” performer wrote an essay published in Elle that further addressed the emotional toll from the trial. In it, in which she called herself a survivor of “the unimaginable.”

“Not only did I survive being shot by someone I trusted and considered a close friend,” Pete wrote, “but I overcame the public humiliation of having my name and reputation dragged through the mud by that individual for the entire world to see.”

She also criticized the ways women are often treated as liars, out to make a profit on trauma they have endured rather than simply seeking justice. Pete called the doubt and criticism from others “overwhelming” compared to any support or empathy she got.

Since the incident, Pete continued performing, mostly in the festival circuit, including Coachella in 2022 and L.A. Pride in the Park this past June. She released her most recent studio album, “Traumatize,” in 2022. Though she seemingly teased a new album at an Oscars after-party in March, she also told InStyle several months later that she would prioritize her health before stepping back into the recording booth.

“Fans can expect new music when I’m in a better place,” Pete told the publication in May. “Right now, I’m focused on healing.”