Roc Nation

The assault trial against Tory Lanez for shooting Megan Thee Stallion concluded in dramatic fashion last week, with Lanez’ conviction on three charges. In addition to committing assault with a firearm causing great bodily injury, the Canadian rapper was also found guilty of concealing a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. Naturally, with such a contentious trial, the result was disputed online, but nowhere more forcefully than in Tory’s father’s post-trial outburst — which has sparked some attention-getting reactions of its own.

After the trial, Tory’s father, Sonstar Peterson, addressed reporters, called the outcome of the trial a “miscarriage of justice” and decried Megan’s management company, Roc Nation, as well as its founder, Jay-Z, promising Roc Nation would “crumble.” Of course, an entertainment management company would really have very little clout in a court of criminal law, and Jay-Z probably wouldn’t have had any dealings with Tory Lanez at all if they weren’t tangentially related to the shooting, so fans were delighted by the opportunity to finally have some fun with the otherwise grim proceedings.

Obviously, Jay-Z makes for a convenient target on whom the Peterson family can cast aspersions. Jay spent the early part of the millennium as the subject of numerous online conspiracy theories, including his supposed membership in such secret societies as the Illuminati and the Freemasons, so much so that he addressed such rumors repeatedly in songs like Rick Ross’ “Free Mason” (“I said that I’m amazin’,” he cracks. “Not that I’m a mason!”). Tory and his family, in the face of overwhelming logic, have naturally resorted to illogical defenses, suggesting a conspiracy against him, so it makes sense they would latch onto a figure who already has a “history” of conspiracies.

In any case, Tory Lanez now faces up to 22 years in prison and deportation as a result of … well, the consequences of his own actions. Meanwhile, Meg has yet to address the verdict but it has been reported that she and her lawyers are considering legal action against the slew of blogs that threw their support behind Lanez by posting venomous, false reports throughout the proceedings to undermine her credibility and generally make her out to be the villain. We wish her the best of luck.