Fans of famous Canadian rapper Tory Lanez have rallied around the star in a show of support by launching a petition urging for an appeal of the rapper’s conviction in the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.
Lanez faces more than 22 years in jail and could be deported in relation to the 2020 shooting, according to TMZ. Lanez’s fans published a petition shortly after he was found guilty, claiming he was wrongly convicted and alleging that witnesses, including Megan Thee Stallion herself, lied on the stand, according to the petition.
Lanez was convicted Dec. 23 of three counts for felony negligent discharge of a firearm, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded and unregistered firearm, TMZ reported.
A petition has been made to appeal the Tory Lanez verdict 😳‼️ pic.twitter.com/zL5yBoLMNU
— RapTV (@Rap) December 26, 2022
Lanez’ fans have echoed allegations reportedly first put forward by his father, Sonstar Peterson, who was responsible for an in-court outburst that resulted in his removal from the courtroom when the verdict was read, according to Daily Mail. During the outburst, Peterson reportedly declared his frustration and blamed Jay-Z and Beyoncé for his son’s conviction, citing conflict arose when Jay-Z’s Roc Nation signed Megan Thee Stallion to his label in June 2022, the outlet reported.
Fans called the conviction a “true miscarriage of justice” in the petition, and called the 10-day-trial “a circus of speculation, insufficient evidence, inconsistencies, and drunken memories,” which they say left everyone “without much moral certainty of any truth,” according to Daily Mail. (RELATED: Rapper Accused Of Crashing Into Pregnant Woman And Leaving The Scene)
The petition claims the trial was the result of “political pressure to fake protect black women,” and alleges “African-Americans went along with hashtags that didn’t protect anyone & instead caused division between black women and black men,” according to the petition.
#REPORT: A petition created by a woman to appeal Tory Lanez verdict has reached over 24,000 signatures in a few hours. pic.twitter.com/oAvQ5hrIfM
— 6ixBuzzTV (@6ixbuzztv) December 26, 2022
More than 31,000 people have signed the petition as of Monday evening.