After several delays, public disputes and much anticipation, jury selection proceedings have begun in the criminal trial of Daystar Peterson… also known as Tory Lanez.
For those who may not remember, a fight occurred in the Hollywood Hills between Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez in an SUV that eventually escalated into gunfire.
Tory was then charged with assault after Megan claimed he shot her in the foot. In this episode of TSR Investigates, we sat down with entertainment attorney and professor J.Christopher Hamilton to get his perspective on this high profile case.
Entertainment Lawyer Gives Perspective On High-Profile Tory Lanez-Meg Thee Stallion Shooting Case
Megan Thee Stallion is expected to testify and it’s still unclear if Tory Lanez will take the stand. But we’ll be following this case very closely and reporting all the facts.
Will new information be revealed to change public perception of Tory Lanez? Or will Tory ultimately be charged with what he’s being accused of?
The Shade Room investigates…
Lanez appeared in a Los Angeles court on Monday, dressed in a suit and turtleneck, and even posted on social media.
“Have a blessed day,” the 30-year-old tweeted.
Meanwhile, Hamilton, an entertainment lawyer, told TSR Investigates’ Justin Carter that there has been a lot of misleading information regarding the case thus far.
“A lot of the discussion and discourse on this is very misleading, because we don’t know all of the information.”
Lack Of Reliable Eyewitnesses Could Benefit Lanez, Hurt Prosecution, Entertainment Lawyer Says
Hamilton added that the numerous delays in the case likely came from the rapper’s attorney’s request, typically to allow for more time for the defense to investigate and prepare.
The entertainment lawyer and professor went on to say that the defense, meaning Lanez and his attorneys, will likely benefit from the fact that there is no solid eye witnesses who could hurt their case.
Hamilton noted that the one witness who could hurt their case is Megan’s ex-friend Kelsey Nicole, who has not been on speaking terms with Megan for quite some time.
“Many would see that as Megan’s friend not supporting her claim,” Hamilton said. “We haven’t heard anything from the bodyguard/driver, but we can assume that that’s Tory’s bodyguard, and he’s likely not to be in support of Megan’s perspective.”
Hamilton did say that one eye witness was mentioned in the statement, however that person was still unsure of who exactly fired the gun.
Meg Expected To Testify At Trial, Unknown Whether Tory Lanez Will Take The Stand
Megan is expected to testify, but it reminds unknown whether Tory will also take the stand.
As for jury selection, which took place Monday, the entertainment lawyer said that Tory and Megan are “household names,” but added that the process of selecting the jury still shouldn’t take too long.
“However, there is still a vast majority of the population that has no clue who these people are, and it will likely be those people who will be on the jury.”
He said that both Tory and Megan have made quite a splash in the media since the shooting, sharing their own recollections of what happened. Notably, Meg sat down with Gail King of CBS News to convey her side, admitting she initially told responding officers that she was not shot, but rather she stepped on glass.
Meg admitted she was trying to “protect all of us” when she first denied being shot.
Meg Admits To Lying About Not Being Shot To “Protect All Of Us” Immediately Following Shooting
She also said Lanez was extremely apologetic, and even offered her “a million dollars” to not say anything about the shooting.
“He’s apologized, he’s like ‘I’m so sorry,'” she told King in a recent and candid interview. “Please don’t tell nobody, I’ll give ya’ll a million dollars if you don’t say nothing.”
Meg then tearfully and rhetorically asked, “why would you offer me money, help me!”
She went on to say that people who are trying to use the initial claim of a glass injury against her are claiming she is lying, to which she doubled down she initially did so to protect Lanez at the time.
Meanwhile, Tory has had his supporters, who he thanked on social media while maintaining his innocence, even mentioning the incident in a song.
Opening Statements Set To Begin After 12 Jurors Are Selected, Lanez Faces Up To 22 Years In Prison
Hamilton says opening statements will begin shortly after those 12 jurors are selected, with the prosecution set to go first.
“Their goal is to convince the jury that what they are submitting as to what took place, actually took place beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Lanez is facing up to 22 years in prison on felony assault of a semi-automatic firearm, personal use of a firearm, and being in possession of a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle.
Stay tuned with The Shade Room for more updates on the case as they come.
TSR Investigates explores cold cases and special interest news stories underrepresented in mainstream media.
