Megan Thee Stallion reacts to lack of coverage of her shooting on Instagram Live

On July 27, Megan Thee Stallion went live on Instagram to thank dedicated fans who have reached out to her after news broke about her involvement in a shooting on July 12. About 180,000 viewers tuned in to watch the rapper wipe away tears and condemn anyone who made light of the situation — naming the incident the “worst experience of my life.”

To recap, on the morning of July 12 in Hollywood Hills, Calif. rapper Tory Lanez was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon. The 27-year-old was released later that day on bail, but the story of the arrest slowly trickled into the news after the media learned that Lanez had been with fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion in the car after the two had attended a party at Kylie Jenner’s house.

Police were initially called to respond to a report that there was active gunfire in the area and a woman was treated for foot injuries. Lanez has not been charged in relation to the shooting.

On July 15, Megan Thee Stallion posted on Instagram announcing that she had been shot that morning, but did not explicitly name Lanez as her attacker.

“On Sunday morning, I suffered gunshot wounds, as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me,” the post says. “The police officers drove me to the hospital where I underwent surgery to remove the bullets.”

This is a newsworthy story of a 25-year-old being shot in broad daylight, but the facts have barely been touched by media outlets. In fact, a search of recent news articles on Megan Thee Stallion mostly revolve around celebrities apologizing for making light of the situation.

That includes 50 Cent, who posted a since-deleted meme about the incident on his Instagram and then said he didn’t realize “this s*** was real;” Chrissy Teigen, who made a Twitter joke about Megan being known for twerking while she was recovering from gunshot wounds; and comedian Jess Hilarious who went as far as filming a reenactment of the shooting for “entertainment purposes.”

“It’s not funny. It’s nothing to joke about,” she said during the stream. “It was nothing for y’all to start going and making up fake stories about. I didn’t put my hands on nobody. I didn’t deserve to get shot. I didn’t do s***.”

Seeing Megan tearfully recount her story on Instagram Live shows how Black women are often not advocated for in their trauma. The fact that she personally has to come out to state the facts rather than it being accurately covered by the media only adds to the burden.

“It has definitely made me realize how to move forward, and how to protect my energy,” Megan continued during the Instagram Live. “Imagine being 25, and you don’t have both your parents. My momma was my best friend. I’m still really not over that.”

Want to learn about how you can further support Black women? Read In The Know’s Jamé Jackson’s essay on how society has failed Black and Latinx girls.

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