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Megan Thee Stallion’s Ex-Friend On Tape Saying Tory Lanez Threatened Her – Rolling Stone

December 15, 2022

Megan Thee’s Stallion Former best friend Kelsey Harris took the witness stand at Tory Lanez’s felony assault trial on Wednesday as prosecutors revealed she gave a bombshell taped interview in September claiming Lanez threatened to shoot her on it inside a Cadillac Escalade before he opened fire on Megan.

Prosecutors played snippets of the interview during Harris’s combative testimony as she confirmed she gave the detailed statement three months ago, but claimed the damaging account was ‘not accurate’ and that she was “not truthful” that day to “protect” herself.

Sitting just steps away from a jury in a Los Angeles courtroom, Harris said she no longer remembers Lanez’s alleged threat inside the SUV and no longer remembers seeing him hold a gun or shoot Megan during an alcohol-fueled fight on July 12. , 2020.

In part of the recording played for jurors, Harris was heard telling prosecutors that after Lanez allegedly said, ‘I’m going to shoot you,’ he then ‘reached out his hand like he was going to grab something ” from the center console of the SUV.

Harris, 27, agreed that she made the statement during the interview in September, but when Assistant District Attorney Kathy Ta asked her to describe the alleged threat to the jury, she fell silent and said claimed “some of the things I said, they weren’t accurate.

“The night was blurry. We were under the influence,” she said on the witness stand.

When prosecutors confronted her with her taped statement claiming she saw Lanez ‘pointing the gun straight but still down at Megan’, Harris again reversed course and said she had not been witness to the shooting.

She said a mix of anxiety, postpartum issues and grief over the death of a loved one made it difficult for her to remember details and even focus on her direct exam questions on Wednesday.

Still, she said it was absurd for the defense to claim she was the one who opened fire on Megan, wounding the ‘Savage’ rapper in both feet during the roadside brawl two years ago. year.

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“I mean, it’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous,” Harris testified in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom — a day after Megan told jurors she saw Lanez point the gun at her and shoot.

Harris was expected to be a key witness in the high-profile case, as she is the only other eyewitness close to the events leading up to the shooting that confirmed her trial testimony beyond Megan herself. . During opening statements, prosecutors said she would support the claim that Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was the trigger.

She was considered a wildcard before the trial because she was particularly low-key over the past two years and grew distant from Megan despite their former friendship of seven years.

When she first entered the courtroom on Wednesday, she was accompanied by criminal attorney Daniel A. Nardoni. The attorney said Harris plans to assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Judge David Herriford said he conducted chamber proceedings on the matter and determined that Harris’ concerns were “legitimate”. Prosecutors then said they would offer her “use immunity” for her testimony, and she was sworn in as a witness.

“I don’t care if I’m here today,” Harris said minutes into her exam. She called the lawsuit a “triggering situation”, saying she suffered from “anxiety” and was dealing with the birth of a child and a recent death. “I just don’t want to be here.”

She then targeted Megan.

“She painted the picture that I betrayed her, she painted the picture that I’m this bad person, bad friend, that I took silent money. There’s a lot of lies,” he said. she testified.

Ta then questioned Harris about other alleged lies. “Were there any charges that you shot Megan?” she asked.

“There were,” Harris replied.

“What do you think of them?” Ta inquired.

“I mean, it’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous,” Harris said.

Peterson, 30, sat at the defense table during her testimony. The “Luv” singer has pleaded not guilty to three counts alleging he shot Megan with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, causing serious bodily harm; concealed an unregistered loaded firearm in a vehicle; and discharged a firearm through gross negligence.

If found guilty of the charges against him, the Alone at the ball The rapper faces 22 years and eight months in prison and subsequent deportation as a Canadian citizen.

Wearing a black ensemble with her hair in a bun, Harris told jurors that she and Megan met Tory Lanez at a Roc Nation even in 2020 and became friends. She said Megan first tried to set her up with Tory. But then she caught Covid and was at home in Houston for two or three months. She thinks the “dynamic” between Megan and Tory has changed while she’s been gone.

She then described the rally at Kylie Jenner’s house that preceded the shooting. She said everyone was playing beer pong and “having fun”, but she described Megan’s behavior as “drunk” and “a bit offbeat”.

She said that at some point after passing out inside, Peterson arrived at the mansion. When asked how Peterson acts, she replied, “Tory does his thing – be Tory, flirt.”

“Who was he flirting with?” Ta asked.

“He was flirting with Kylie,” she replied.

Harris testified once Megan said she was ready to go, the two women drove off with Peterson’s driver, leaving Peterson behind. (When Megan testified Tuesday, she disputed that detail, saying Peterson’s driver refused to leave the property without his client.)

Harris said shortly after she and Megan left Jenner’s house for the first time, Megan told the driver she had forgotten a “slipper,” so they returned.

She said Megan went inside alone and “apparently a fight or something happened”.

“She rushed with Tory,” she testified. “She was like, ‘Bitch, Kylie said we gotta get the hell out.’ I was like, ‘I’m confused.’

She said the trio then got into Peterson’s Cadillac Escalade with the driver, Jauquan Smith, where everyone started arguing.

“The argument that took place inside continued,” she said, declining to be specific. “There was so much back and forth, name calling (between) me and Megan, Tory and Megan, Tory and me, Megan and Tory.”

Ta asked if Harris remembered Tory saying something like, “Megan, why don’t you tell your friend about us?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she replied. “(Megan) was just like, ‘Don’t listen to her. Why are you telling her that?

When asked what her reaction was, Harris said she was “upset, confused.” She testified that she and Peterson had been intimate before catching Covid and traveling to Houston.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “He just says they had a relationship, they had a relationship. An argument ensues and only continues. She and I argue about his disloyalty.

She said “lots of name-calling” erupted, with everyone “taking punches at each other”. She remembers telling prosecutors that Peterson called women “bitches” and “hoes.”

Then Ta began questioning Harris about his taped interview with prosecutors in September.

“Do you remember in that interview with (another prosecutor) and myself, that you mentioned that he threatened to shoot you?” Your question.

“Do I have to answer? Harris said looking at the judge.

“Yes,” said Judge David Herriford.

“Uh, yes ma’am,” Harris replied, confirming that she claimed Peterson threatened to shoot her.

“And it was in the car, wasn’t it?” ” Your question.

“Yes,” she answered.

“What did he do and what did he say? Your question.

“Can I take my 5th?” Harris responded by leaving the stand to speak with his attorney. Upon his return, Harris again invoked his right not to incriminate himself.

“Why don’t you want to answer that question?” ” Your question.

“I don’t want to be here,” Harris replied.

Harris is scheduled to return to the witness box on Thursday.

Updated at 8:16 p.m. to reflect Kelsey Harris’ afternoon testimony