Megan Thee Stallion, as part of a cover story for Elle Magazine, shared a powerful new personal essay that finds her reflecting on the Tory Lanez assault trial. (He was found guilty last year following the 2020 incident.)
In the piece, she spoke about the implications of the trial and how not being believed affected her:
“It never crossed my mind that people wouldn’t believe me. Still, I knew the truth and the indisputable facts would prevail. I had worked way too hard to reach this point in my career to let taunts deter me. When the guilty verdict came on Dec. 23, 2022, it was more than just vindication for me, it was a victory for every woman who has ever been shamed, dismissed, and blamed for a violent crime committed against them.
But my heart hurts for all the women around the world who are suffering in silence, especially if you’re a Black woman who doesn’t appear as if she needs help. So many times, people looked at me and thought, ‘You look strong. You’re outspoken. You’re tall. You don’t look like somebody who needs to be saved.’ They assumed that, per preconceived stigmas, ‘I didn’t fit the profile of a victim,’ and that I didn’t need support or protection.
Time after time, women are bullied with backlash for speaking out against their attackers, especially when they’re accusing someone who is famous and wealthy. They’re often accused of lying or attempting to make money from their trauma. From firsthand experience, I know why a lot of women don’t come forward. Any support and empathy that I received was drowned out by overwhelming doubt and criticism from so many others.”
Toward the end, she notes that she’s trying her best to heal by taking time off social media and instead hanging out with her dogs (or popping up at baseball games.) Megan has also turned to journaling and prayer. And that, with this piece, it will be the last time she speaks about the incident.
“My purpose is for these words to serve as the final time that I’ll address anything regarding this case in the press,” she wrote. “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.”
.@theestallion faced vitriol from gossip blogs, strangers, and peers after coming forward about her shooting by #ToryLanez in 2020. For the first and only time since her assailant’s guilty verdict, she discusses moving past what happened in our May issue: https://t.co/p1dbcS5evF pic.twitter.com/anKnG4pJOR
— ELLE Magazine (US) (@ELLEmagazine) April 18, 2023
Read Megan’s full essay here.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.