Iggy Azalea has addressed her “letter of support” written for Tory Lanez ahead of his conviction in the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.
Lanez (real name Daystar Peterson), 31, has been in jail since December 23, 2022 after a jury convicted him of first-degree assault, firing a firearm with gross negligence, and having a concealed and unregistered firearm in the vehicle .
Fellow rapper Megan The Stallion (real name Megan Pete) had accused Lanez of shooting her in the foot during an incident in July 2020.
At the final court hearing on Monday (Aug. 7), Judge Herriford summarized the several statements of support he had received for Lanez, one of which came from Azalea, according to court reporter Meghann Cuniff.
On X (formerly known as Twitter), Azalea reacted to the news that her letter had been read in court, telling fans she “never intended to comment publicly.”
The “Fancy” singer opened by saying that she had “been out of touch with Tory for months, I have no reason to be, but I do wish him the best”.
“I don’t ‘support’ anyone,” she continued. “The whole thing is full of quirks. My letter never mentioned anything about what happened that night.”
She explained that she was “told this was only in court, but it’s being discussed in public.”
“It was never my intention to comment publicly,” she added.
Herriford told the court that Azalea’s letter asked him to impose a sentence “that is transformative, not life-destroying”.
Addressing the latter, Azalea reiterated, “I am not in favor of throwing someone’s life away if we can provide reasonable punishments that are rehabilitative instead. I support prison reform. Period of time.
“I was asked to write about my real life experience and the kind of punishment I think he deserves: I did.”
Azalea concluded by arguing that “it’s not really that interesting, but I can see why it’s being sensationalized”.
“See you next week to discuss pizza toppings, I suppose. Lol,” she joked.
Los Angeles prosecutors are seeking a 13-year prison sentence for Lanez, who also faces deportation to his native Canada. An official conviction is expected later today, against which his lawyers will appeal.
Megan testified at trial that Lanez shot a gun to the back of her feet and told her to “dance b****” after she got out of his SUV and walked away from it. The pair had left a party at Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills home.
After the incident, she required surgery to remove bullet fragments from her feet and claimed Lanez offered her $1 million (£830,000) to keep quiet about the incident while he was on probation.
