Megan Thee Stallion writes op-ed on protecting Black women ahead of Tory Lanez court hearing
Megan Thee Stallion penned a heartfelt op-ed imploring Americans to protect Black women ahead of rapper Tory Lanez's scheduled court hearing Tuesday regarding felony charges over allegations he shot the "Savage" artist.
In an op-ed piece for The New York Times published Tuesday, rapper Megan Thee Stallion detailed her experiences with the incident and lamented feeling like she and other Black women are "not protected as human beings."
"I was recently the victim of an act of violence by a man," she wrote.
Without naming names, Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, said she was shot after a party twice while walking away from a man with whom she was not in a relationship.
"Truthfully, I was shocked that I ended up in that place," she wrote. "My initial silence about what happened was out of fear for myself and my friends. Even as a victim, I have been met with skepticism and judgment. The way people have publicly questioned and debated whether I played a role in my own violent assault proves that my fears about discussing what happened were, unfortunately, warranted."
'The truth will come to light': Rapper Tory Lanez responds to charges over Megan Thee Stallion shooting
Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, is accused of shooting at Megan Thee Stallion several times and wounding her on July 12 in Hollywood Hills. He faces two felony charges: assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. Lanez is due to be arraigned Tuesday in Los Angeles. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of roughly 23 years.
"After a lot of self-reflection on that incident, I’ve realized that violence against women is not always connected to being in a relationship," Megan Thee Stallion added. "Instead, it happens because too many men treat all women as objects, which helps them to justify inflicting abuse against us when we choose to exercise our own free will."
Megan Thee Stallion appeared earlier this month on the season opener of "Saturday Night Live," during which the screens behind the rapper flashed messages including "Protect Black women" and featured audio from activists. She then appealed for the protection of Black women and Black men, and criticized Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron over his handling of the Breonna Taylor case. Cameron later called the rapper's display "disgusting."
'Protect Black women': Megan Thee Stallion sends powerful Breonna Taylor message on 'SNL'
"I’m not afraid of criticism," she responded Tuesday. "We live in a country where we have the freedom to criticize elected officials. And it’s ridiculous that some people think the simple phrase 'Protect Black women' is controversial. We deserve to be protected as human beings. And we are entitled to our anger about a laundry list of mistreatment and neglect that we suffer."
Contributing: Carly Mallenbaum and Kelly Lawler
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Megan Thee Stallion writes op-ed before Tory Lanez shooting hearing
