Tory Lanez Gets Higher Bail For Violating Megan Thee Stallion Protective Order

A judge increased Canadian rapper Tory Lanez’s bail by $60,000 after he violated a protective order requiring him to keep a distance of at least 100 yards from Megan Thee Stallion.

Lanez, who faces charges related to the July 2020 shooting of Megan, appeared in court in Los Angeles on Monday, just weeks after he made a surprise appearance at the Rolling Loud Miami festival in July. During his appearance, Lanez performed onstage with rapper DaBaby just after Megan Thee Stallion performed her own set on the same stage.

In October, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Lanez with one felony count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle. Prosecutors say the shooting happened after Lanez got into an argument with a 24-year-old victim while riding in an SUV in the Hollywood Hills.

While Megan Thee Stallion wasn’t mentioned by name as the victim, the “WAP” rapper has publicly alleged he was the shooter. The New York Daily News reported at the time that the female victim had exited the vehicle and then Lanez shot at her feet several times.

Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, has pleaded not guilty.

In court on Monday, Lanez apologized to Judge Keith H. Borjon for popping up at Rolling Loud. Borjon at one point threatened to issue Lanez a court-ordered tracking device, Billboard reported.

But the rapper’s attorney, Shawn Holley, convinced the judge not to do so by arguing that “it 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 ... to perform a song, a part of a song,” she said.

Prosecutor Kathy Ta countered that Lanez’s appearance after Megan’s performance was “not a situational circumstance,” Billboard reported.

“The [sheer] 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.

Borjon warned that Lanez is “facing years in prison, over 22 years in prison,” and that the rapper does not “want to be doing things like this.”

“You have the means and the wherewithal 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,” the judge said.

Lanez’s bail was then upped from $190,000 to $250,000. He’s due back in court on Sept. 2.

In August 2020, Megan Thee Stallion spoke out about the incident in an Instagram Live, telling fans: “Yes ... Tory shot me. You shot me and you got your publicist and your people going to these blogs lying. Stop lying. Why lie? I don’t understand.”

She also said she didn’t tell Los Angeles police about the shooting because she feared for her safety and the legal repercussions.

“I didn’t tell the police nothing because I didn’t want us to get in no more trouble,” she said in the video.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.