Tory Lanez accused his former lawyer Shawn Holley of intentionally hindering his defense in the Megan Thee Stallion shooting case. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Lanez filed an ethics complaint claiming Holley never had his best interest in mind due to her alleged ties to Roc Nation.
Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, said acted on Roc Nation’s orders to try to get him to accept a plea deal. He pointed to the Hulu series Reasonable Doubt, which is loosely based on Holley’s life, as the source of her alleged conflict of interest. The show featured Megan’s “Savage” remix and a song by Holley’s daughter, who sang backup for Beyoncé. Holley scoffed at Lanez’s allegations.
“Mr. Peterson brought these meritless claims to the State Bar over a year ago and they were summarily rejected and the matter was promptly closed,” Holley told TMZ. “His actions to publicize this failed effort are likely tied to the appeal of his criminal conviction, for which I wish him well.”
Lanez was convicted of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence in 2022. Holley told him she was “not comfortable” with his defense strategy, which sought to blame Kelsey Harris for shooting Megan in the foot.
A judge sentenced Lanez to 10 years in prison in 2023. Lanez appealed his conviction. His current legal team filed a writ of habeas corpus petition on October 23.
“It is more than an abstract possibility that the jury could have been swayed by positive DNA test results showing Ms. Harris’s DNA contributed to one of the four profiles recovered from the magazine and firearm,” Lanez’s lawyers argued. “If the people had made such evidence available to the jury or the defense, it is reasonable to conclude that a rational trier of fact would have found the requisite reasonable doubt as to whether Mr. Peterson had fired the weapon. When looking at the sum total of the circumstances of Petitioner Peterson’s trial, it is clear that a miscarriage of justice has occurred.”
Lanez remains in custody in California.