Megan Thee Stallion deserves peace. But like many Black women online, she isn’t getting it.

From Andscape

Between misinformation and rampant speculation, the Grammy-winning rapper has been under intense scrutiny

Rapper Tory Lanez was found guilty in the 2020 shooting of Megan Thee Stallion. After two days of deliberation, a jury in Los Angeles convicted him of assault with a semiautomatic handgun, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. He faces up to 22 years and eight months in prison. He was taken into custody following the reading of the verdict.

Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascón thanked Megan Thee Stallion for her bravery, adding, “Women, especially Black women, are afraid to report crimes like assault and sexual violence because they are too often not believed. This trial, for the second time this month, highlighted the numerous ways that our society must do better for women.”

While the trial, much like the entire incident, has divided the Black community, it’s been frustrating to watch Megan Thee Stallion plead for both privacy and her humanity.

On Dec. 13, Megan Thee Stallion, born Megan Pete, spent four hours on the witness stand to testify during the assault trial against Lanez (born Daystar Peterson).

[…]

The charges stemmed from a July 2020 incident when Megan Thee Stallion was shot in both feet after leaving a pool party at social media personality Kylie Jenner’s house. Megan Thee Stallion didn’t immediately name Lanez as the shooter in an attempt to protect him, but Los Angeles prosecutors filed the charges against the Canadian rapper anyway.

Almost as soon as the incident happened, people on social media moved the goalposts, first accusing her of lying about even being shot, and now, claiming she’s lying about who shot her. They’ve also tried to use her sexual history to question her credibility.

“This whole story has not been about the shooting,” Megan Thee Stallion said during her testimony. “It’s only been about who I been having sex with. When people talk about Megan Thee Stallion getting shot, all the headlines are Megan Thee Stallion is on trial and I’m not on trial!”

Sex and violence are incredibly intertwined for Black women. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports more than 40% of Black women have experienced intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes. And more than half of Black female homicide victims are related to intimate partner violence.

The way Megan Thee Stallion has been demonized for her supposed sexual history, coupled with the rampant misinformation from hip-hop gossip bloggers, is peak misogynoir.

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