Megan Thee Stallion Seeks New Restraining Order Against Tory Lanez
Megan Thee Stallion says Tory Lanez continues to “terrorize” her from a prison cell — so she filed a new petition on Dec. 17 asking for a restraining order that would bar Lanez from harassing, attacking, or contacting her in “any way.”
In the 193-page filing obtained by Rolling Stone, the rap artist born Megan Pete says she needs the extra layer of civil court protection because a prior criminal protective order expired not long after Lanez was convicted of shooting her in both feet during an alcohol-fueled tirade on a Los Angeles street. She claims the alleged harassment “campaign” has continued unabated because Lanez, born Daystar Peterson, has enlisted “bloggers” and “puppets” to post on his behalf.
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“Even from behind bars, Mr. Peterson continues to terrorize Ms. Pete. Due to inadequacies and loopholes in the criminal justice system, Ms. Pete is currently without any formal protection against Mr. Peterson’s attacks,” the new petition reads. “Mr. Peterson’s attempts to re-traumatize and re-victimize Ms. Pete recognize no limits.”
In a separate complaint filed on Dec. 24, Peterson responded to the temporary restraining order request and accused Megan of weaponizing the justice system, according to People. “Rather than rebut the commentary or debate the issues raised by Defendant’s comments so people can make up their own minds, Plaintiff has succumbed to the current trend of using the legal system in an attempt to cancel those opinions she disagrees with,” reads the document.
Peterson was accused of “purposefully” filing a lengthy writ of habeas corpus on Oct. 23 that seeks to vacate his sentence, according to Megan’s petition. Her filing was just days before the premiere of Megan’s Amazon Prime documentary, Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words. Megan says Peterson’s petition falsely alleged that law enforcement officials failed to preserve the gun as evidence in the case, depriving him a chance to test for DNA.
“While Mr. Peterson distorts and recklessly disregards the truth in his desperate attempt to appeal his conviction, his false assertions have reignited a slew of negative, harmful and defamatory comments directed to Ms. Pete,” the petition states. (California authorities have confirmed in court filings that the firearm remains in police custody. Peterson’s lawyers declined to test it independently before his trial, instead choosing to focus on the “inconclusive” DNA test results obtained by police.)
The petition filed on Megan’s behalf by lawyer Mari Henderson of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan gives some history as well, listing instances of Peterson’s alleged pre-trial harassment, including when he released a music video for the song “CAP” in which he used a blood-stained butcher’s knife to slice a dismembered horse leg. The filing goes on to claim Peterson has engaged in an ongoing “conspiracy” with blogger Elizabeth Milagro Cooper to repeatedly “bully” Pete.
“Mr. Peterson is fully aware of the impact of the psychological warfare he has waged against Ms. Pete, yet he continues to deputize his supporters to attack Ms. Pete’s characters and integrity,” the filing says.
Megan alleges in the new petition that Cooper, known online as Milagro Gramz, serves as Peterson’s “puppet and mouthpiece.” She claims Cooper worked with Peterson to question the integrity of the criminal trial and “smear” her name. In her filing, she points to social media posts from October in which Cooper highlighted Peterson’s false claim that the gun had “gone missing.”
Megan separately sued Cooper for alleged cyberstalking in federal court in Florida last October. She attached a copy of the complaint as an exhibit with her petition filed Tuesday. In the Florida action, Megan and her lawyers claim they have evidence showing Peterson “pays or paid” Cooper to attack Megan and cause her “severe emotional distress.”
“As far as my client, Ms. Cooper, is concerned and the allegations against her here in Florida, you can read our response to the amended complaint once it is filed with the court and said response will speak for itself,” Cooper’s lawyer Michael A. Pancier said in an email sent to Rolling Stone late Tuesday.
The lawyers representing Peterson in his appeal are working with a non-profit group called Unite The People. In a statement, the group’s founder said it was “ludicrous” to claim Peterson’s writ of habeas corpus was filed “in an attempt to undermine” Megan’s documentary. Peterson “was simply complying with [appellate court] deadlines,” Ceasar McDowell, chief executive officer of Unite the People, said. “We trust that the truth will be fully examined and proven through the legal process, and we remain 100% confident in our case,” he added.
Megan, 29, is asking the Los Angeles court to issue her the new restraining order with a line that would specifically direct Peterson “not to contact Ms. Pete directly or indirectly or harass or intimidate her, directly or indirectly, online.” She claims that without court intervention, Peterson will continue to force her to “relive” her “trauma.” A hearing has been set for Jan. 9, 2025.
Peterson, 32, is currently serving a 10-year sentence in a state prison in Tehachapi, Calif. It was in December 2022 that a Los Angeles jury deliberated for seven hours before convicting him on all three felony counts. They found he assaulted Megan with a semi-automatic firearm, causing great bodily injury, discharged the weapon with gross negligence and possessed the concealed, unregistered weapon inside his SUV.
At trial, Peterson tried to convince jurors that Megan’s friend and assistant, Kelsey Harris, fired the weapon. But Megan gave three hours of harrowing testimony in which she recalled Peterson yelling “Dance Bitch” as he fired at her feet. The chief resident of orthopedic surgery at Cedars Sinai Medical Center walked jurors through X-rays showing the wounds to Megan’s feet. He said they identified four metallic bullet fragments embedded in her feet and removed what they could during emergency surgery.
The two-week trial included head-spinning testimony from Harris, who was present in the SUV the morning of the shooting and who gave an 80-minute recorded statement to prosecutors in September 2022 in which she vividly recalled Peterson firing five shots, leaving Megan wounded on the ground.
This story was updated Dec. 18, 2024, to include a statement from Unite the People. This story was updated on Dec. 27, 2024, to include Peterson’s complaint in response to Megan’s temporary restraining order request.
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