"Before I went on stage, I would be crying half the time": Megan Thee Stallion opens up on the aftermath of the Tory Lanez incident 

Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion recently sat for a cover story with Women’s Health magazine and got candid about the “dark times” she had to navigate in the aftermath of her Tory Lanez shooting in 2020, following which she had to undergo surgery to remove bullet fragments from her foot.

The Hot Girl Summer singer recalled in the interview published on April 10 how the speculations and criticisms surrounding the incident led to severe depression, which, in turn, made it difficult for her to return to music:

“Before I went on stage, I would be crying half the time, because I didn’t want to [perform], but I also didn’t want to upset my fans,” she stated.

Megan Thee Stallion explained how she wasn’t herself for a long time and had to go through therapy to recover.

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Megan Thee Stallion spoke up about the Tory Lanez incident

In July 2020, Megan Thee Stallion suffered gunshot wounds on her foot by Canadian R&B musician Tory Lanez in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. The incident happened on the road when Stallion exited the car they were riding in, following an argument at a pool party.

In December 2022, he was convicted of three felonies, including assault with a semiautomatic firearm, possession of a loaded and unregistered firearm, and gross negligence in discharging a firearm. Later, in August 2023, Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Megan Thee Stallion appeared for a candid interview recently with Women’s Health, where she opened up about her struggles and road to recovery, after being shot in the foot by Tory Lanez nearly four years ago.

“As a Black woman, as a darker Black woman, I also feel like people expect me to take the punches, take the beating, take the lashings, and handle it with grace. But I am human,” she noted.

She recalled facing backlash from fans and fellow artists regarding the authenticity of her story during the trial and mentioned:

“A lot of people didn’t treat me like I was human for a long time. I feel like everybody was always used to me being the fun and happy party girl. I watched people build me up, tear me down, and be confused about their expectations of me.”

She further noted how the incident put her not only through physical trauma, but also had a toll on her emotional and psychological health. In the wake of the shooting and its prolonged trial, she had a hard time returning to music and stage performance, adding she didn’t wish to go up there on most days and would sit and cry, realizing that she would let her fans down.

She added:

"I didn’t want to get [out] from under the covers. I stayed in my room. I would not turn the lights on. I had blackout curtains. I didn’t want to see the sun. I knew I wasn’t myself. It took me a while to acknowledge that I was depressed. But once I started talking to a therapist, I was able to be truthful with myself,” she confessed.

Apart from counseling, Megan Thee Stallion also allegedly cut ties with people who did not contribute to her life, deleted social media, and focused her energy elsewhere, such as hitting the gym, doing pilates, and beach training, among others, during her journey to recovery. She said how she was finally in a “space” where she was feeling “good mentally” and also wanted “to look as good as I feel.”

Currently, Megan Thee Stallion is working on her third and untitled album. Speaking about the same, she noted:

"I'm getting into a better space with making music that is still true to myself but also true to my message. I am very much a flower, but my flower has thorns."

She further added how she was “proud to still be here,” and not quitting even when times got difficult, and wished to “see myself grow and be better.”

The Grammy winner is all set to begin her Hot Girl Summer Tour in the next few months. In January this year, she told Good Morning America that she was trying to make a comeback with her upcoming album and wanted to give her fans “the Megan Thee Stallion experience.”