As the first week of the Tory Lanez’ assault trial comes to an end, the focus has shifted toward Megan Thee Stallion’s former best friend and assistant, Kelsey Harris. She’s the key witness in the case and one of the only people, other than the victim and Lanez, that can speak to what led up to the night of the shooting.
So far, Harris’ testimony appears to do more help to Lanez’ defense than it does to prosecutors’ efforts to convict him of shooting Megan Thee Stallion, whose given name is Megan Pete. Harris has recanted what she told to Deputy District Attorney Kathy Ta and Alexander Bott during a September 2022 interview—that Lanez had threatened her before the shooting and that she saw him aim a gun toward Pete in a “downward direction.” In testimony this week, she instead admitted she did not witness the shooting at all, a drastic departure just three months later.
According to Billboard, on Thursday, prosecutors pressed Harris about those previous statements, asking her if she saw Pete get shot. In response, Harris said that she was told by the “Savage” rapper’s team that she stepped on glass. When asked, “Who shot Meg?” Harris’s answer was simple, “I don’t know.”
Harris claimed she was the target of harassment following a post Pete made on Instagram days after the shooting where she revealed for the first time that she suffered gunshot wounds on her feet from someone who attempted to harm her. Harris felt that Pete suggested she received money to keep quiet, which led to harassment from fans.
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On day 1, Harris (who became the Grammy-winning rapper’s assistant in 2019) described the origins of the Los Angeles chapter of their friendship, noting that she left her native Houston in 2020 to live with Megan in an Airbnb in Los Angeles. But in the wake of the shooting, she said she became “confused” when Megan’s team booked her a flight back to Texas. “I was in a hotel for about two weeks,” she explained. “I made a point that I had nowhere to go.” Megan then set her up with a new living situation, Harris said, noting it was the only time they’d been in contact since the incident.
Both Pete and Harris shared during their testimonies that they haven’t seen each other in person since the shooting
Moving past Pete, prosecuting attorneys started to press Harris on whether Lanez bribed or threatened her before the trial. When asked this question, Harris could be seen shrinking in her seat.
According to Billboard, this is a far cry from the reaction she gave during the cross-examination from Lanez’s attorney, George Mgdesyan. During cross-examination, Harris confidently made it clear that Lanez never threatened or bribed her. But, when she was asked if Lanez offered her $1 million after the alleged shooting, Harris said she didn’t remember.
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What did become clear during Mgdesyan’s cross-examination was that Harris didn’t fully understand the scope of her “use immunity” — meaning nothing derived from her testimony may be used against her in a criminal proceeding — that was offered to her by prosecutors ahead of her testimony on Wednesday.
During her testimony on Thursday, Harris was unable to recall what happened the night of the shooting, blaming the alcohol she was drinking at Kylie Jenner’s house, according to Billboard.
When asked by the prosecution if she heard anyone shout, “Dance bitch!” a phrase Lanez allegedly yelled at Pete before shooting her in the foot, Harris denied ever hearing it.
Per Billboard, Harris also did not recall the alleged text messages that were sent between her and Pete. Screenshots of the text threat show someone asking if they should go to urgent care, saying, “My chest is hurting / pressure I have a heart murmur idk it’s being triggered. My left side, back and neck hurt But that’s from the fighting and him dragging me out the car by my hair.” Harris denied ever sending them.
The only thing Harris did remember doing was releasing a diss track towards Pete titled, “Bussin Back,” which she said was a response to Pete’s track, “Shots Fired,” from her 2020 album Good News.
During opening statements, Assistant District Attorney Bott told the jury that Harris would testify that she saw Lanez shoot Pete in both of her feet. But, during Harris’ last two days on the witness stand, she hasn’t done anything close to that, making it difficult to corroborate Pete’s story and ultimately convict Lanez of the charges leveled against him.