Megan Thee Stallion addresses being shot by Tory Lanez for the ‘final time’ in new essay

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

Megan Thee Stallion is moving forward.

The “Savage” rapper, whose legal name is Megan Pete, published an essay on Tuesday for Elle Magazine in which she detailed her healing journey after she was shot in the feet by rapper Tory Lanez in July of 2020.

“As I reflect on the past three years, I view myself as a survivor, because I have truly survived the unimaginable,” Pete penned.

She described how she not only survived being shot by a friend she thought she could trust, but how she also overcame the “public humiliation of having my name and reputation dragged through the mud by that individual for the entire world to see.”

“It never crossed my mind that people wouldn’t believe me,” she wrote, adding that she nonetheless “knew the truth and the indisputable facts would prevail.”

Pete accused Lanez of shooting her after she exited a vehicle they had been riding in following an argument in the summer of 2020. Lanez was charged with three counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded and unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, according to prosecutors.

In December, Pete testified during the trial and a Los Angeles jury ultimately found Lanez guilty, convicting him on all three counts.

The guilty verdict was more than just vindication for her, she wrote this week — “it was a victory for every woman who has ever been shamed, dismissed, and blamed for a violent crime committed against them.”

“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.”

Pete also described putting up a public front amid a private struggle that affected every area of her life — including her music.

“I was in such a low place that I didn’t even know what I wanted to rap about,” she wrote, later adding, “there would be times that I’d literally be backstage or in my hotel, crying my eyes out, and then I’d have to pull Megan Pete together and be Megan Thee Stallion.”

Pete said that she still struggles with anxiety but is in a “happier place” now thanks to journaling, praying, and establishing boundaries with those she lets into her life. She is also working on new music.

“I’m ready to show everybody that all the dirt they threw at me didn’t stick,” she said.

The Grammy-winning rapper does not plan to speak publicly about the incident any further, saying that her purpose with the moving essay was to “change the narrative because I’m more than just my trauma.”

“This is a rebirth of a happier and healthier me.”

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CNN’s Lisa Respers France and Taylor Romine contributed to this report.