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.
But, hold up, because this trial has elements of T.V., and due to a colossal blunder by the defense, they
helped the prosecution recover from their self-inflicted wound.
On Friday, the jury was allowed to listen to the 80-minute audio of Kelsey Harris comfortably spilling her guts about the early morning of July 12th when Megan Thee Stallion was shot.
While December Kelsey couldn't remember anything about Nichols Canyon R.D., September Kelsey had excellent recall. She confirmed what many of us knew and what Megan said in her 2020 diss song "Shots Fired."
Tory Lanez shot Megan Thee Stallion over an argument about who had the bigger career.
So, the defense did not lie when they told the jury this trial was about jealousy, except not between two friends fighting over a sneaky link. Instead, it's about a man who could not handle a woman throwing her success in his face.
The jury will decide if they believe Sept. Kelsey or Dec Kelsey, but it does bode well for the prosecution that Sept. Kelsey seemed relaxed, and her story made more sense than Dec. Kelsey, who did not even know there was a shooting. Also, if bribery was trending after Kelsey's testimony, then that may have run through jurors' minds too.
JAELIEY IS OWED AN APOLOGY
Kelsey also revealed that Tory Lanez, who I wish we could see a toxicology report on, punched, slapped, and dragged her as she tried o protect Megan. She claims she was scared for her life.
Imagine the charges Tory would be facing if Kelsey had told her story in 2020 instead of holding it hostage in hopes of getting paid.
But, one person did come forward, and that was Meg and Kelsey's friend, Jaeliey, who Kelsey allowed people to drag and call a liar when she was trying to expose just how violent Tory Lanez got that morning.
Jaeliey publicly posted a message talking about how Kelsey told her that Tory "beat her ass", only for Kelsey to call her a bully. Jaeliey is owed an apology.
gOoD pErSoN, DNA & GSR
Tory's blogs are expert and trying to divert attention from the real story and after that devastating audio by Kelsey, boy, did they get to work.
Now the narrative is "mEgAn iS nOt a gOod pErSon."
That comment from people ignoring that Tory allegedly assaulted Kesley is comical. Also, Meg will fit right in with Hip Hop culture, and "she is living her raps," so what now?
I plan to delve deeper into this Kelsey stuff, but I will do that after the trial. All I will say is; I do not think Kelsey's problem with Meg is "feeling unprotected"; it is feeling unemployed.
DNA
Another distraction is these DNA results. Some blogs love reporting old information like it is new information. We heard these results back in February when D.J. Akademiks got dragged for reporting the results wrong. I see nothing has changed.
Also, I see people complaining about the prosecution not running the test on Kelsey. Well, we must remember that the only reason he was probably tested was that he had a gun charge. So there was a reason to test him. No one, including Tory Lanez, was claiming Kelsey shot Meg despite her narrative. We have rights, and law enforcement just can't take our DNA. Everyone should remember that.
I would love for her to voluntarily give it up so they could just test it and close a possible hole in their case, but c'mon. Also, I did not read if the prosecution explained to the jury why there may not be a DNA profile on a gun after it is fired.
GSR
I confirmed that the defense asked the criminalist who had more GSR on them, but he did not want to wait for the answer cause she had to find her notes, and he just moved on to another question.
What is not confirmed is what the prosecution did because a prosecutor trying to win a case would have re-directed and allowed her the time to find her notes, which should have been ready to go before testifying.
I understand why the defense would not care about the results; they just want the jurors to know both Tory and Kelsey had GSR on them. But, explaining to the jurors who most likely fired the gun based on the particles is significant since the DNA came back inconclusive.
I hope this was done, and it just was not reported.
WHERE THE FCK IS JUSTIN
One of the questions constantly asked in my DMs was about when Justin would testify; well, the D.A. has the same question.
Megan's former bodyguard has been confirmed missing after he failed to show up to testify on Friday.
Justin allegedly was going to reveal how Tory Lanez admitted he fired the gun, but it was not at Megan just the ground. So that would be 3 witnesses saying Tory fired the gun that morning.
However, he is missing but not confirmed missing like in danger missing. It is unclear if he just does not want to testify or if he was threatened or worse...
This shit is getting crazy, and the jury needs to know. That balcony witness, I bet, will not show up missing.
The D.A. does have a statement from Justin, but there is a question if it will be allowed to be played in court. The only reason Kelsey's audio was played was because of a mistake by the defense, and they had the chance to cross-examine her. The defense would not have an opportunity to cross Justin in this case.
But, how is it handled if foul play is suspected? A defendant can't be allowed to just get rid of witnesses without consequences.
DEFENSE
I know many of you want to prematurely talk verdict before the defense even presents their case, but I actually want to see how the defense explains how Kelsey shot Megan, what the detective and eyewitness say, and if Tory Lane avoids the stand.
I want to know if they will bore us with more Kylie Jenner stories.
I am also interested if the prosecution is better prepared to counter in funny business from the defense.
DAY 6
EJ King and his pink jacket showed up to be some type of character witness for the defense. EJ testified he witnessed Meg's energy shift from fun to irritated, which we all saw the irritated Meg on IG Live. However, he slipped in. "Meg can be "aggressive" when faded passed a certain point." Now, I hope the DA asked if
Meg was aggressive that night because EJ just said she "can be," not that she was. Even Kelsey just described her as "obnoxious."
EJ also painted Tory Lanez as someone he thought was an asshole before seeing him with Meg, who he did not believe was violent.
A smart prosecutor would have asked EJ why you thought Tory Lanez was an asshole, pointed out Megan fired EJ, and have character witnesses ready to testify about the other side of Tory Lanez when they reopen their case. They should not allow EJ to be the measuring stick of who is and is not violent when we all know there is too much evidence to the contrary. Do not allow that question to be unanswered for the jury.
The DDA scored points by getting EJ to talk positively about Kelsey and her demeanor. While the defense is trying to paint the victim as "aggressive," they totally forgot about the person they are accusing of shooting Meg over a jealous fight.
The defense did try to get EJ to say he saw a gun in the girl's bag, which he never did but did give that "I can't recall" response to something he sure as hell would recall.
DAY 7
In over-promise, under-deliver court news, the defense got "Kelsey'd" by their "star" witness Sean Kelly who was supposed to place Kelsey Harris as the one who shot Megan Thee Stallion. But instead, the best he did was open the possibility of two shooters, one gun - which still means Tory Lanez is guilty.
Kelly, whose testimony was just as cinematic as Kelsey's 80-min therapy session, testified he awoke to noises and saw two women violently fighting by the car, "they were pulling their hair and hitting each other. It was quite violent."
The girls were separated; one gets into the passenger side of the car, and a fight breakouts again in the SUV. He says he only sees the tops of their heads. He claims to see then a "flash" that he thought was fireworks. The testimony goes like this per Louder Than A Riot:
Kelly: I NEVER saw a GUN. I just saw a FLASH
Mgdesyan: Did you see a muzzle flash?
Kelly: Yes
Mgdesyan: Where were the flashes coming from?
Kelly: The girl...I believe it was the girl first
This was good for the defense cause you can create doubt, but is it reasonable? I question this part of Kelly's testimony only because it seems Kelsey and Megan were right up on each other when he saw the flash. How did Kelsey miss seriously wounding Megan if she had a gun? Megan's injuries do not match up with what the defense is suggesting. This witness never said he saw a gun in regard to Kelsey at this point.
If the defense had stopped there, they would have been good because some people forget to make sure that "reasonable" is attached to that "doubt" by matching up Megan's injuries with what people said happened.
But, the defense did not stop there and asked the one question a lawyer should have never asked if he was not 100% sure of the answer:
Mgdesyan: Sir, did you see the shorter guy (Tory) with a gun in his hand?
Kelly: Yes
BOOM!
This is more than "believing" you saw a "flash" next to someone. Kelly put a gun in Tory's hands and then testified that everyone started beating up one girl, "to me, it appeared that they were going to throw her in the river." This is believed to be Kelsey, Quan, and Tory beating up on Megan.
Now, this part of the testimony is odd to me, too, because Megan never claimed she was jumped, which would benefit her. Also, I don't remember any hospital reports of bruises. So, now Megan has been shot close range and jumped.
The defense tried to get Kelly to say he saw Tory Lanez taking the gun from Kelsey, but he testified, "I never saw that."
Also, what could hurt the defense further is, per Meghann Cuniff, when Kelly was asked if he saw a muzzle flash, he said "Yes," but added, "about the same time that the smallest individual got out the car."
This DEFENSE witness was all over the place and said things that could not have happened, including saying a woman was firing into the SUV that had no bullet holes, but what was not all over the place was his damaging testimony about Tory Lanez.
He testified Tory was "very agitated" and had his arm outstretched "firing everywhere." When asked how many shots Lanez fired, he said, "Four or Five."
This is consistent with other testimony of Tory with his arm over the door stretched out shooting, and he did fire 5 shots. In addition, he said Tory was screaming at Megan while she was on the ground after being shot.
He basically described Tory Lanez as an out-of-control lunatic.
Eyewitnesses are notoriously inaccurate, but there are some truths in what he saw. He is another witness, where the jurors must decide what they believe and will ignore.
I know people are trying to distract by investigating this alleged fight instead of the shooting. However, all we know for sure is there was a fight on Nichols Canyon Rd because Kelsey also described a crazy fight and even had messages asking about urgent care.
All of them are lying or omitting stuff, purposely or just not remembering. But people remember the shooting, and Tory Lanez seems to be the common denominator.
If people want to harp on Kelsey, possibly being the Bonnie to Tory Lanez's Clyde, go ahead. But y'all should have been spending 2 years trying to prove that instead of harassing Megan, who, by Kelly and Kelsey's statements, was also kidnapped.
If you want a full recap, please check out Meghann Cuniff for Law & Crime and Nancy Dillon for Rolling Stone.
Day 8
Yesterday, Tory Lanez driver Jaquan "Money Talks" Smith came out of hiding after a disastrous day for the defense, whose own eyewitness told the jury Tory Lanez had a gun and fired it 4-5 times to match with those 5 shell casings found at the scene.
Due to Smith's sudden appearance, he was not allowed to just waltz up to the stand and say whatever story he concocted. Since the prosecution was not given proper notice if he wanted to perform in front of the jury, he would have to wait until after Christmas. Tory and his lawyer decided it was not worth it, so Smith's grand entrance was met with a swift grand exit.
However, Tory Lanez could have testified without delaying the trial at all. The man who claimed his gag order prevented him from talking, even though his lawyer debunked that claim, decided he would rather sit quietly and sleep in court instead of proclaiming his innocence to that jury. When you know you are your own worst witness at trial, there is a problem.
Now, I understand it is right not to testify, just like apparently is for others who were supposed to show up; however, with all the shit-talking from his supporters and messengers, he gets no grace. Hop yo ass in that chair.
Also, Tory's defense was not simply he did not do it; he accused another person. His defense in no way laid out how this frame job occurred. Detective Stogner led to nothing, eyewitness only made it to where maybe Tory had help in shooting Meg, and EJ was mainly useless except he gave a glowing review of Kelsey as a person.
The jury may find it odd Tory did not testify to elaborate on how he was framed and wonder why his defense focused so much on Kylies COVID party without having Kylie testify.
Really there is not any REASONABLE doubt he shot Megan; people are just wondering if he had help.
Speak, Heart, Share...Thanks!
Tory Lanez has permanent housing now at his new home.
Hey @yaya can you do a follow up like a "where should megan go from here" alot of people are angry with her and I suspect many in the industry are too.
Welp it's been a long road.
God is good 😊
Some bloggers fighting with facts while reporting on the #ToryLanezTrial........when you are one of them....lmao