Tory Lanez Trial Coverage, Updates, And Commentary
Updated: Dec 22, 2022
The jury has been selected, and after two years of everybody arguing their case for and against Tory's guilt, it is time for Kathy Ta and whoever shows up for defense to battle it out in court.
THE DEFENSE
As we wait for opening statements, Meghann Cuniff of Law & Crime gave some insight into the defense teams strategy:
The defense concedes that Megan Thee Stallion was shot, so debates over glass should be limited. However, per Tory's "lead attorney" George Mgdesyan, "I can tell you this: My client is not the shooter."
If Tory Lanez's defense tries to blame Kelsey Harris for shooting Megan, they have the IG response he made to someone claiming Kelsey shot Megan and him clearing her name. The prosecutors also have the motion to compel Tory Lanez to testify if he uses the "Blame Kelsey" defense. We are still waiting on a judge's ruling on that.
The defense will focus on what happened at Kylie Jenner's party, "Obviously, our goal is to tell the jury the truth of what happened at Kylie's house."
Mgdesyan again was unsure about calling Kylie Jenner and said, "You've two celebrities on both sides, and nobody wants to testify on one side and make enemies in Roc Nation,"
Tory Lanez's testifying is still up in the air even though his lawyer claims he wants to get his side out.
Megan is expected to take the stand on Tuesday.
Interestingly, the defense claims Tory is not the shooter, but their focus is on Kylie's party, not what happened on Nichols Canyon Rd.
FYI - The lawyer is an alternate juror
DAY 2
Monday was a very eventful Day 1 of Tory Lanez's trial. The defense seems like they will rely heavily on throwing out celebrity names to capture the headlines and try to convince the jury Kelsey Harris shot Megan due to GSR and a witness who has multiple stories.
The prosecution presented their case with a strong presentation and made an explosive claim that Tory not only shot Megan but assaulted Kelsey at the scene. This fits with what Jailey claims about Kelsey saying Tory hit her.
Speaking of Megan and Kelsey, they are due to testify today. We know it will be buzzing if they testify back-to-back. I imagine they may take up the whole day with the defense harping on glass and if the girls had sex with Tory.
Nancy Dillon of Rolling Stone posted photos of Megan's supporters in front of the courthouse today.
On Tuesday, Megan Thee Stallion wearing a ready-to-convict purple pants suit and a business bob testified for 4 hours in Tory Lanez's felony assault case.
As you all know, I am not at the courthouse, so I am left at the mercy of court reporters like most of you. But, from what I have read in various credible publications, Megan did the damn thang. Not only did she go up there and tell what happened, but she was vulnerable, honest, and got to speak on the larger issue of what happens to women when they speak up in Hip Hop culture, which she called “a big boys club.”
Drawing Mona Shafer Edwards
Lanez's new defense team, who purportedly replaced the "fired" Shawn Holley, spent 2-hours trying to find inconsistencies in Megan's story and is still searching.
READ LA TIMES ARTICLE
I am so sick of people running with whatever Lawyers For Pimps says. He posted a video talking about Megan's response to being asked where was Kelsey when Tory was doing the shooting. Megan replied, "I didn't see Kelsey, I only saw Tory."
He could not even keep a straight face when he tried to turn this into a problem. Megan was busy dodging bullets, and he thinks it's going to be a problem with the jury that she does not remember where everyone was standing.
But what also made his commentary interesting is that people like him always lie about Megan changing her story. Megan's testimony today lines up with what she told the defense's star witness back in 2020. Megan said that when Tory started shooting, she did not know where Kelsey was. She is being consistent, and that is a great thing.
Also, I wanted to talk about another piece of Megan's interview back in 2020. When she was asked did anything occur between Tory and Kelsey after the shooting, Megan said they "bumped into each other."
I remember when I first read this, I thought, are they the 2 Stooges? I always thought this was an odd description of their interaction by Megan. But, now that I know that Kelsey is claiming Tory assaulted her, maybe what Megan saw was not a bump but Tory hitting Kesley and not being aware of what was going on due to her own trauma. Hmmm...
Oh, if you have any evidence to send to DA Kathy Ta: kta@da.lacounty.gov
DAY 3
There are more updates on Megan Thee Stallion's testimony yesterday, and these updates further confirm how great she did on the stand. Below are some moments I want to highlight, along with quotes.
NIGGA WHAT NIGGA WHO
During cross, Tory's defense attorney Mgdesyan said "Nigga" while quoting Megan. She asked him to repeat himself, and he did...YIKES! - Source Billboard
Do not pick your lawyers because they offer you a coupon.
These are some compelling moments with Megan on the stand:
She revealed how her peers do not want to touch her (blackballing)
Despite the judge striking from the record, Megan was able to get in how Tory was chopping up horse legs
She spoke about having to sit across from Tory and the people who spread lies about her
They showed photos of how Megan left blood stains in someone's driveway
They showed an IG page that post hateful stuff about Megan - I wonder which page it was
Some quotes from Law & Crime
"This has messed up my whole life. She said people call Lanez's trial "the Megan Thee Stallion trial" but "I am not on trial."
Asked how the shooting has affected her physically, Megan said she underwent physical therapy but to this day "can't really feel the left side of my foot" because of damaged nerves. "The back of my feet are always sore, but I still just push through that"
"At this point, how could I share my body with somebody who would shoot me?"
"I wish he would have just shot and killed me if I knew I was going to have to go through this torture"
"I feel like a sick bird"
"I never dated anyone Kelsey dated in my whole life, and Kelsey never dated anyone I date"
Today Kelsey is set to testify, and I am concerned. She will not be Megan on the stand, and we still do not know her motives. Has Kelsey finally come to her senses due to having a child and plans to tell the truth? Has she played the prosecution and will help Tory by pleading the 5th? Is she exaggerating parts of that night to make it appear she did try to protect Megan so that she can repair her public image and not be seen as Cabo 6-ish?
Megan again asserted that it looked like Kesley and Tory "bumped" into each other as they were running toward her. So, she is being consistent. But we still don't know if that was a "bump" or an assault. At this point, are Tory and Kelsey both lying on each other?
All we know is that Megan has told the truth about the shooting; I don't care about her sex life. When it comes to this shooting, everything is what it was back in 2020.
THOUGHTS ON DAY 3
Courtroom Sketches By Mona Shafer Edwards
It's funny that earlier today, I asked, "Has she played the prosecution and will help Tory by pleading the 5th?" and look what happened...
I refuse to piss in y'all gumbo and tell you it's all gravy like they do on Tory Lanez's side. The prosecution fck'd up and what makes it worse is that it was all predictable and preventable.
They say if something is too good to be true, it probably is.
So, when Kelsey Harris shows up at your office 2-years AFTER the shooting and delivers a much more cinematic version of what happened on Nichols Canyon Rd; than what Megan has consistently said for 2 years. You might want to double-check with Meg before over-promising in your opening statement, only to severely under-deliver today.
I am still waiting on more details on how ridiculous Kelsey was, but to summarize: Kelsey showed up asking for immunity, which she did not need, pleaded the 5th on questions involving Tory Lanez, and got selective blurry memory on most things non-Megan Thee Stallion.
I do not blame the prosecution for calling Kelsey to the stand; I blame them for treating her like she was
Megan Thee Stallion instead of the hostile witness she was and turned out to be.
In my past writing of Kelsey, I warned of this trickery she might pull, and I am baffled why the prosecution was not prepared for her to switch up last minute. Kelsey turning on them did not hurt them; it was them seemly not being prepared to rip her to shreds that did.
However, luckily for the prosecution, Kelsey is not the brightest bulb, and her testimony is not so much creating reasonable doubt like Tory would hope, but suspicion of bribery. So, again, LISTEN TO MEGAN THEE STALLION!
Kelsey is testifying like someone who was told what to say and not to say but can't remember her script. She has a "blurry" memory of what happened in the SUV and on Nichols Canyon but has no problems discussing details of Kylie's party.
What is it about that damn party?
Kelsey's testimony only raises questions that the D.A. should have been prepared to deal with if they understood her situation better instead of rushing to put her on the stand.
Kelsey lost all of her friends, not just Megan, after meeting with Tory. She only gets support from anti-Megan blogs and 1501. If she helps the prosecution, she loses all her support and will be an outcast.
So, she doesn't care about no damn immunity. It was all performative, which is why Tory blogs promoted it before it happened. It was for headline purposes, and D.A. played right into it.
Trials will have their ups and downs, so it's not over, but tomorrow they need to hammer the idea of bribery or witness intimidation to the jury.
DAY 4
So, the judge is allowing another bombshell text message sent by Kelsey the night of the shooting she did not see where she asked Megan if she should go to urgent care cause her chest, back and neck hurt from fighting, and Tory dragging her out of the car by her hair.
Ok, this can be interpreted two ways: The fighting part was between Meg and Kelsey, or the whole thing was Kelsey and Tory. Considering I did not hear about the defense questioning Meg about a fight, I wonder if that story was all made up.
It's crazy that Tory could have shot Meg and assaulted Kelsey in one night.
DAY 5
After Kelsey Harris's revenge-fueled testimony, Tory Lanez supporters declared victory as they felt she had created enough "reasonable doubt" for Tory to get away with shooting Megan Thee Stallion.