Judge Warns Tory Lanez After Issuing Bail Increase For Violating Megan Thee Stallion Protective Order
After Tory Lanez made a surprise appearance at Rolling Loud Miami last month, he was hit with an increase in bail after violating a court order to stay away from Megan Thee Stallion.
The 29-year-old, who was born Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson, appeared in Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles on Monday, August 23, and was ordered to pay $250,000 bail. The previous bail amount was $190,000.
Lanez joined DaBaby onstage on July 25, only moments after Megan finished her set. He had been ordered to stay 100 meters away from the "Savage" singer.
During the hearing, Judge Keith H. Borjon reportedly considered issuing Lanez a court-ordered tracking device. His attorney Shawn Holley argued that the festival appearance was "a unique circumstance, errors in judgment were made, but this can easily be prevented from happening again."
"If [Tory's] intention was to harass or intimidate [Megan Thee Stallion], she would have known he was there at the time. He would have seen her and she would have seen him ... He went there for a legitimate purpose as far as his artistry is concerned," Holley said.
However, prosecutor Kathy Ta argued that the "Say It" rapper had gone out of his way to violate his court order. "This was not a situational circumstance. The share [sic] amount of effort it required [for Tory] to get to this venue and do everything that he did, I think that speaks volumes about his conduct. It wasn't by chance and it wasn't a situational situation, it was by design," she said.
The judge warned that Lanez would be remanded if he came near the "Cry Baby" hitmaker again and that he was "fortunate" to be able to post bail and avoid being detained.
"You're facing years in prison, over 22 years in prison," the judge said. "They could have filed an additional charge based on violating the protective order because that's a violation of law as well. You do not want to be doing things like this sir. You have the means and the where with all and a lot of smart people around you to advise you as to how you should be conducting your life so we don't have to have hearings like this."
Lanez is slated to appear in court again on September 2. In July 2020, he allegedly shot Stallion in the foot after an argument.
An insider told TMZ that the 26-year-old and her camp were upset that Lanez was at the festival and hit the stage so soon after her set. A friend close to the "Feels" singer claimed that he did not see Megan and he never got "physically close to her."
TMZ caught up with Lanez as he left the courthouse. The singer did not comment on his bail increase but joked about being recorded from his good side.
