Iggy Azalea has addressed her “letter of support” written for Tory Lanez ahead of his sentencing in the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion.
Lanez (real name Daystar Peterson), 31, has been in jail since 23 December 2022 after a jury convicted him of first-degree assault, discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, and having a concealed and unregistered firearm in the vehicle.
Fellow rapper Megan The Stallion (real name Megan Pete) had accused Lanez of shooting her in the foot in a July 2020 incident.
During the latest court hearing on Monday (7 August), Judge Herriford summarised the various letters of support he had received for Lanez, one of which came from Azalea, according to court reporter Meghann Cuniff.
On X (formerly known as Twitter), Azalea responded to the news that her letter had been read in court, telling fans that she “never intended to publicly comment”.
The “Fancy” singer began by saying she had not “been in touch with Tory for months, I have no reason to be, but I do wish him well”.
“I don’t ‘support’ anyone,” she continued. “The whole thing is full of oddities. My letter never mentioned anything in regard to what happened that night.”
She explained that she “was told this was for the judge only, yet it’s being discussed in public”.
“I never intended to publicly comment,” she added.
Herriford told the court that Azalea’s letter asked him to impose a sentence “that is transformational, not life-destroying”.
Addressing the latter, Azalea reiterated: “I am not in support of throwing away ANY ones life if we can give reasonable punishments that are rehabilitative instead. I support prison reform. Period.
“I was asked to write about my genuine experience and the type of punishment I think he deserves: I did.”
Azalea concluded by arguing that “it’s not really that interesting but I understand why it’s being sensationalised”.
“See ya next week to discuss pizza toppings I suppose. Lol,” she joked.
Los Angeles prosecutors are seeking a 13-year prison sentence for Lanez, who also faces deportation to his native Canada. An official sentencing is expected later today, which his lawyers plan to appeal.
Megan testified during the trial that Lanez had shot a handgun towards the back of her feet and told her to “dance b****” after she got out of his SUV and walked away from it. The pair had left a party at Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood Hills home.
Following the incident, she required surgery to remove bullet fragments from her feet and alleged Lanez offered her $1m (£830,000) to stay quiet about the incident as he was on probation.
