A man who claims to have witnessed Megan Thee Stallion’s roadside assault took the stand to testify about what he witnessed, which included a fight between two women, followed by an “angry” male, alleged to be Tory Lanez, “firing everywhere.” Also, Meg’s former stylist, EJ King, is setting the record straight about his post-court social media posts, and Joe Budden is issuing an apology to Meg. All the details are inside…
Tory Lanez’s defense team was thrown a curveball in court by a witness who claimed to have seen what happened when Megan Thee Stallion was shot at over two years ago.
Day 7 of the shooting trial opened up with testimony from witness Sean Kelly, who told the jury that he witnessed a “violent” brawl between two women, followed by an angry male, allegedly Tory, who was “firing everywhere.”
The man said that he awoke to the sounds of two women violently fighting near a car, where they “were pulling their hair and hitting each other,” describing the interaction as “quite violent,” according to Law and Crime’s Meghann Cuniff.
Deputy DA Alexander Bott began by asking Kelly about his 911 call. He didn’t report a woman shooting – he reported a group beating on a woman.
Kelly said the shorter guy “was very agitated” and had his arms outstretched.
“He was firing everywhere,” Kelly said.— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) December 20, 2022
It’s worth noting that Kelly called 911 to report a group beating on a woman, not a shooting.
“How many shots did you see the short guy shoot?” Bott asked.
“Four or five,” Kelly answered.— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) December 20, 2022
Kelly told the defense that he did not see anyone fire a gun, but that he “just saw flashes,” and that they came from the shorter gentleman — a term he repeatedly used to describe Tory — who appeared to be “very angry,” and “making lots of noise,” but that he “never saw a gun,” which contradicted his testimony given that he continued to say that the first shot was fired by a woman.
”I believe I saw the girl shoot first,” he said, adding that he didn’t realize she had a gun at the time and assumed it was fireworks.
Tory’s defense attorney, George Mgdesyan, has suggested Meg’s former friend/assistant Kelsey Harris is the person who pulled the trigger, partly based on an earlier interview Kelly gave them in January 2021. Kelly didn’t provide much clarity on that point in his perplexing testimony, which repeatedly contradicted itself.
Bott also got out of Kelly more details about the girl he believes he saw shooting.
“I see what appears to be the girl shooting into the car.” Then when the shorter guy was with the girl on the ground, he was yelling “just a torrent of abuse.”— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) December 20, 2022
“And this was directed at the victim?” Bott asked.
“All of them…He was going crazy. Was really agitated,” Kelly answered.
Kelly said the same thing about Tory in re-cross.
“He was highly agitated, shouting, lots of swearing.”— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) December 20, 2022
Kelly claims he heard a shot fired shortly after a man matching the description of Lanez’s driver, Jaquan Smith, got out of the car and attempted to separate them. He claimed that a man matching Lanez’s description then exited the car, resulting in a fight between all four people — and that four or five more shots were fired.
Another thing about Kelly: He said his concern that night was his son, not the people outside, and this was traumatic. Some of what he said jurors may know isn’t true – the inside of the Escalade was not shot up. But his testimony became a real wild card for the defense.
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) December 20, 2022
Later in his testimony, Kelly stated that he witnessed three of the individuals beating one of the women in the street while she was curled up in a ball, before hearing the man matching the bodyguard’s description say, “The cops are coming!” He then claimed to have seen someone in the group pick up the woman, at which point he assumed the group intended to throw her into a nearby creek.
”It appeared to me that they were trying to kill her,” he testified. “Dragged her across the street and picked her up.”
Watch a recap of Sean Kelly’s testimony below:
By the way, Meg’s bodyguard, Justin Edison, was supposed to take the stand, but mysteriously disappeared last Friday. The LAPD is investigating his disappearance.
Sean Kelly’s testimony came after EJ King, Meg’s former stylist, took the stand to testify as a witness for the defense.
During his testimony, EJ King talked about how intoxicated Meg allegedly was during Kylie Jenner’s house gathering. He talked about how the “WAP” raptress allegedly went from “fun” Meg to “agitated” Meg. The celebrity stylist said he didn’t recall seeing a firearm in Meg or Kelsey’s possession the night of the shooting. Initially, EJ, Meg and Kelsey were supposed to leave together. However, Meg & Kelsey deiced to leave with Tory, so EJ packed Meg and Kelsey’s luggage in the trunk of Tory’s vehicle. The defense said Kelsey’s bag had been moved from the trunk to inside the car.
Peep the recap below:
After his court appearance, EJ took to social media to share photos and videos of himself walking out of the courthouse. On one slide, he added the “Law & Order: SVU” theme song to a video of himself speaking with reporters outside of the courthouse. Folks began to drag him for the “insensitive” post, accusing him of “poking fun” at the felony shooting trial.
Swipe through the controversial post:
And check out some reactions from celebs like Joe Budden, Winnie Harlow, Eva Marcille and more below:
EJ King hopped on IG Stories to clarify he was not “poking fun” at the case. He said he always puts music over his IG posts.
”I don’t need to poke fun at anyone else’s pain or trauma or make a joke,” he said. “I was subpoenaed to come to court. I know this is a very serious situation, but it was MY day in court. That’s how i felt.”
Watch his full response below:
Thoughts?
Also…
Joe Budden’s comments about “not liking” Megan Thee Stallion resulted in a dragging from Vivica A. Fox.
”If you don’t button it up and sit yo b*tch a** down,” Vivica said about Joe. “Hating on that girl. Y’all mad that girls right now are ruling rap. It’s driving y’all crazy.” Watch the clip above.
The public dragging came after Joe dissected the high-profile shooting trial last week on the “Joe Budden Podcast.” He said he’s “biased” because he doesn’t like the way Meg has treated people that he’s close to in the industry. Take a listen below:
Joe Budden explains his dislike for Megan Thee Stallion; claims she have done some horrible things to some great people he have known in the industry for 15 years. pic.twitter.com/kRrqmoJUnS
— VideoMixtape.com (@VideoMixtape_) December 18, 2022
During another episode, he flat out said he “doesn’t like her” because she allegedly lied about having sex with Tory. Watch the clip below:
Joe Budden is not a fan of Megan Thee Stallion: “I don’t like that girl”pic.twitter.com/WhZoZ4TuNa
— Now HipHop News (@NowHipHopNews_) December 19, 2022
And what does THIS have to do with her being SHOT?! Tell us, Joe.
According to All Hip Hop, Joe Budden issued an apology to Meg and expressed concern for her mental health.
“I’m apologizing to Meg,” said Joe Budden. “Meg, the people that love her, her handlers, her team, the people that have to support her through what has to be an exhausting trial. I listened back. I got a few phone calls from women that I love and appreciate and admire.”
The 42-year-old retired emcee added, “I’m apologizing for the careless manner in which I joked about her mental health. That didn’t sit right with my soul and my spirit… That’s not funny because whether you believe her or don’t believe her, can you afford to be wrong? And the answer’s no.”
Joe Budden continued, saying he would not feel right if Megan Thee Stallion harmed herself as a result of the “pile-on” and “hate train” on social media. He also apologized to his female audience for his remarks.
“That part was very tough for me to listen to. I almost couldn’t sleep. What if something happens to her?” asked Joe Budden.
The former “Love & Hip Hop: New York” star also stated he does not believe Meg is the only person lying about the violent incident supposedly involving Tory Lanez.
Thoughts on Joe Budden’s change of heart?
Now, the defense is deciding if Tory Lanez should take the stand. If he does, prosecutors want to use Tory’s misogynistic and violent rap lyrics, his tattoos, every arrest he’s ever had, and every person who has ever accused him of assault against him.
Watch the clip below:
We shall see.
If convicted as charged, Tory Lanez faces more than 22 years in prison and deportation as he is a Canadian citizen.
Photo: Michael A. Walker Jr./Shutterstock/Instagram
