“I watched people build me up, tear me down, and be confused about their expectations of me”

Megan Thee Stallion has opened up about the way she was treated after revealing that she was shot by Tory Lanez.

In a new cover story for Women’s Health, the ‘Savage’ rapper revealed that she was not treated like a human after speaking out about the incident with Lanez. The rapper – real name Daystar Peterson – was found guilty in December 2022 of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in both feet in 2020.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and began serving his sentence the following August.

“A lot of people didn’t treat me like I was human for a long time,” Megan told the publication. “I feel like everybody was always used to me being the fun and happy party girl. I watched people build me up, tear me down, and be confused about their expectations of me.”

She continued: “As a Black woman, as a darker Black woman, I also feel like people expect me to take the punches, take the beating, take the lashings, and handle it with grace. But I’m human.”

She added that though her career was taking off, she was struggling behind the scenes, crying half the time because she didn’t want to perform due to the hate, but also not wanting to upset her fans.

The ‘Body’ hitmaker also shared that she went through “dark times” following the incident, saying: “I didn’t want to get (out) from under the covers. I stayed in my room. I would not turn the lights on. I had blackout curtains. I didn’t want to see the sun.”

“I knew I wasn’t myself,” she continued. “It took me a while to acknowledge that I was depressed. But once I started talking to a therapist, I was able to be truthful with myself.”

After taking time to heal, attending therapy and detoxing from social media but deleting it completely, Megan told Women’s Health that she is now “in a space where I feel good mentally”.

In other news, the Grammy-award winning rapper recently announced UK, European and North American dates for her ‘Hot Girl Summer’ 2024 tour.