"This play is greater than her" - Joe Budden believes Megan Thee Stallion was a "mere pawn" in shooting case involving Tory Lanez

Podcaster and former rapper Joe Budden believes Tory Lanez was set up in the Megan Thee Stallion shooting case. During Wednesday's, July 31, 2024, episode of Budden's podcast, the panel discussed the high-profile case after a recent statement made by Lanez's driver, Jauquan Smith, came to light.

As they talked about Lanez being set up, Joe Budden explained that his beef with Megan in the incident was her saying, "He shot me." He rather believed it was not intentional but done out of recklessness. This statement prompted his co-host to ask why she would make it up, to which the podcaster replied:

"Well, first of all, I think this is above her. I don't think she made it up. She is a mere pawn in this. This play is greater than her. She didn't make nothing up. I ain't gonna say who I think made it up, but it wasn't her."

In July 2020, a drunken roadside squabble between Tory, Megan, and her then-best friend, Kelsey Harris, ended in the Mamushi singer getting shot in both her feet. Following a lengthy trial, the Canadian rapper was found guilty on three felony charges and sentenced to 10 years in August 2023.

However, earlier this week, Smith came forward with his account of what went down the fateful evening. He claimed he did not see who actually shot Megan, but he saw Kelsey holding the gun at one point, and Tory tried to disarm her. Smith's testimony is currently being submitted in court to appeal his sentence.

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"This is a scary state if that's what we think of Black men" - Joe Budden on Tory Lanez's sentence

Early on in the discussion, one of the hosts speculated that Megan Thee Stallion's shooting could be because of any number of reasons, including male ego (getting bruised), disrespect, frustration, or substance abuse. However, Joe argued:

"I think this is a scary state if that's what we think of Black men. It's a really scary state. You just took somebody in the top 5% and said he'll shoot somebody because of male ego."

During the discussion, Melyssa Ford, another co-host, described the shooting as a "heated moment... fueled by drugs and alcohol." Prompting Joe Budden to ask, Why (was) Tory heated?" He questioned:

"Somebody tell me why Tory Lanez would be heated in that moment. I popped you. I popped you. I'm the one what want to tell about it."

This spurred the dialogue to question whether it was done in recklessness and Tory Lanez was set up. Joe Budden continued his rant, speculating on who was involved in the incident.

"N**ga know out there who it is, I ain't saying it on the broadcast. But I know exactly who it is, I know how that gun got there, I know who gun it was."

Joe Budden mentioned a text conversation he had with Kelsey Nicole. At the time, Kelsey reached out to Budden, asking him not to talk about the case, which Joe found odd. He wondered why she wouldn't want to talk about what he considers "one of the biggest cases in however many years."

Despite attempts by Lanez's lawyers to use Jauquan Smith's statement as new evidence in the case, the California DA's office is suggesting that his testimony does not qualify. They argue that Lanez and his defense team previously knew about the statement but declined to call him to the witness stand.

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Megan Thee Stallion has not publicly reacted to the development.