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On Friday, a Los Angeles jury found the rapper\u00a0Tory Lanez<\/strong>\u00a0guilty of shooting\u00a0Megan Thee Stallion.<\/strong>\u00a0Megan\u00a0accused Lanez<\/a> of shooting her in the feet in July 2020 following an argument between them that took place in an SUV, and prosecutors brought gun and assault charges against the Canadian rapper. During eight days of testimony, Megan\u00a0offered<\/a> an emotional account of the night of the fight and said that Lanez offered her and her former friend and assistant\u00a0Kelsey Harris,<\/strong>\u00a0who was also in the car, $1 million not to speak out. Lanez\u2019s attorneys tried to position Harris as the shooter, and Lanez declined to testify. Lanez faces up to 22 years and 8 months in prison after being convicted on all three counts in the case.<\/p>\n In a statement, Los Angeles district attorney\u00a0George Gasc\u00f3n<\/strong>\u00a0pointed to the backlash Megan has received since going public with her accusation. \u201cYou showed incredible courage and vulnerability with your testimony despite repeated and grotesque attacks that you did not deserve,\u201d he said. \u201cYou faced unjust and despicable scrutiny that no woman should ever face and you have been an inspiration to others across La County and the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe jury got it right,\u201d Megan\u2019s attorney\u00a0Alex Spiro<\/strong>\u00a0said. \u201cI am thankful there is justice for Meg.\u201d<\/p>\n In her testimony last week, Megan largely repeated what she\u2019s said in interviews and on social media about what happened on the night of the shooting. In her telling, an ongoing conflict over the course of an evening\u2013the group had been coming from a pool party at\u00a0Kylie Jenner\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0home\u2013escalated after Lanez said in the car that he had had sexual relationships with both Megan and Harris. She said the argument turned towards the state of the two rappers\u2019 careers. \u201cTory was basically telling me I wasn\u2019t shit,\u201d she testified, \u201cand I said, \u2018Actually, You ain\u2019t shit. This is where you at in your career. This is where you at with your music.\u2019 And I feel like that really rubbed him the wrong way.\u201d Then, according to Megan, she exited the vehicle, and Lanez yelled, \u201cDance, bitch!\u201d and began shooting at her.<\/p>\n During his cross-examination of Megan, Lanez\u2019s attorney\u00a0George Mgdesyan<\/strong>\u00a0tried to discredit her account by eliciting an admission that she lied in an interview with\u00a0Gayle King<\/strong>\u00a0when she said that she hadn\u2019t had a sexual relationship with Lanez. Mgdesyan also asked why Megan had initially said she had stepped on glass, which Megan addressed in her testimony. \u201cThis was the height of police brutality and George Floyd, and if I said this man just shot me, I didn\u2019t know if they might shoot first and ask questions later,\u201d she told the jury. \u201cIn the Black community, in my community,\u201d she continued, \u201cit\u2019s not really acceptable to be cooperating with police officers.\u201d Megan also testified that as a woman in her industry, \u201cpeople have a hard time believing you anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n The defense effort was not enough to sway a jury against Megan\u2019s account of the night. As prosecutor\u00a0Alexander Bott<\/strong>\u00a0said during his\u00a0closing remarks<\/a> on Wednesday: \u201cIf you believe Megan, that\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Mgdesyan said Friday evening that Lanez may file an appeal. \u201cWe are shocked by the verdict. There was not sufficient evidence to convict Mr. Peterson,\u201d the attorney said in a statement, Page Six reported.<\/a> \u201cWe believe this case was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt. We will be exploring all options including an appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n The jury\u2019s decision marked the end of a trial surrounded by online contention and, in some cases, the proliferation of false rumors about the case. On Thursday, just after the jury began deliberating, several prominent hip-hop outlets and bloggers sent out tweets claiming that a verdict had been reached finding Lanez not guilty on two charges, only to retract them after it quickly emerged that the jury was on lunch break. An NBC News\u00a0report<\/a> this week explored how a crop of gossip bloggers had shaped the tenor of social media discussion around the trial. \u201cIt\u2019s been very clear, as I\u2019ve seen entertainment and gossip spaces commenting on the case, that she has been set up as someone who is out for herself, lying, and problematic in all these ways,\u201d Catherine Knight Steele<\/strong>, a University of Maryland communications professor, told the outlet. \u201cThis points to the way that mis- and disinformation, and misogynoir, is trafficked because of its profitability, even in the Black community. It\u2019s profitable for these sites to traffic in the most vile stereotypes about Black women.\u201d<\/p>\n The dynamic in some ways echoed Megan\u2019s description of the attacks she said she has faced since accusing Lanez. \u201cIf I would have known that coming out and speaking my truth would come with people agreeing with me being shot,\u201d she testified last week, \u201cif I would have known, I would have started to lose my confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n Lanez is scheduled to be sentenced on January 27. He could also be deported following his conviction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n