Megan Thee Stallion Can Depose Tory Lanez in Prison, Judge Rules
Megan Thee Stallion has been granted permission to question Tory Lanez under oath for the first time since he assaulted her with a semi-automatic firearm on a residential street in Los Angeles nearly five years ago.
A federal judge signed off on the order Monday after the Grammy-winning rapper, born Megan Pete, filed an unopposed motion seeking to conduct the remote deposition of Lanez while he’s locked up in a California prison. Lanez, born Daystar Peterson, is serving a 10-year sentence for shooting Pete in both feet during an alcohol-fueled curbside confrontation in the summer of 2020. The deposition would be part of Pete’s ongoing defamation and cyberstalking lawsuit against Milagro Gramz, the YouTube blogger who supported Peterson during his trial and has been accused of spreading “vicious and hateful rumors” about Pete as Peterson’s “paid surrogate.” As the plaintiff in the lawsuit, Pete would have a right to attend Peterson’s examination, which likely will be conducted by video. The ruling did not mention of any protective orders for the deposition or limitations on scope.
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Peterson, 32, declined to testify in his own defense at his December 2022 criminal trial that ended with his conviction on all three felony counts. He’s now appealing the verdict, so it’s possible he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if asked specific questions about the shooting. A source previously told Rolling Stone that Peterson regretted not testifying in his own defense. While Pete and her lawyers can subpoena any person they believe has information useful to their case, a spokesman for the non-profit whose lawyers now represent Peterson said he would not be a willing participant in a prison-based deposition.
“If you know Tory Lanez how I do, good luck trying to get him to ‘testify’ to anything, it’s just not what he does,” Ceasar McDowell, CEO of Unite the People, said in a statement sent to Rolling Stone on Monday afternoon. “He definitely did not ‘agree’ to testify now.” Cooper’s lawyer, Michael Pancier, confirmed that his client did not oppose the deposition.
Pete first sued Gramz in October, claiming the YouTuber was part of a “coordinated campaign” to smear her reputation and harass her as retaliation for her testimony against Peterson at trial. Pete claims Gramz, whose legal name is Milagro Cooper, has repeatedly attacked her with claims she suffers from alcoholism and requires a guardian. Pete alleges Cooper also promoted a deepfake pornographic video of her.
Cooper denies conspiring with Peterson and tried to get the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that she was shielded as a journalist. The federal judge overseeing the lawsuit in Florida ruled against Cooper earlier this month, allowing Pete’s lawsuit to proceed. The judge ruled that at this early stage of the civil dispute, Pete had made a “compelling case” that Cooper acted with a “reckless disregard for the truth.”
Cooper’s alleged ties to Peterson were mentioned in Pete’s recent petition for a restraining order against Peterson. Pete claimed that Peterson used Cooper as a “puppet and mouthpiece,” pointing to social media posts from October in which Cooper highlighted Peterson’s false claim that the gun used in the July 2020 assault had “gone missing.” The gun remains in police custody.
At a hearing in January, Pete gave emotional testimony that touched on her claims about Cooper without naming her directly. “I haven’t been at peace since I been shot, and I’m just trying to be un-harassed, not only by the person who shot me, but by the people he’s been paying to continue to harass me,” Pete testified under oath. “I probably won’t ever have my own peace about the situation, but I just really want the harassment from the person who shot me to stop.”
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Richard Bloom granted the request, giving Pete a five-year restraining order against Peterson. The judge cited “several uncontroverted facts” in his ruling, including “conduct that culminated in [Lanez] shooting approximately five rounds at petitioner that resulted in injuries to her.” The judge said Peterson must stay at least 100 yards away from Pete and refrain from harassing, intimidating or threatening her in any way until at least January 9, 2030.
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