Rapper Megan Thee Stallion bares all in her new documentary In Her Words. The Amazon doc chronicles the Houston native’s rise to fame, from childhood to the 2023 conviction of singer Tory Lanez for shooting her in 2020. Megan sets the record straight regarding her mental health, relationships, and personal life, following the fateful event that took place on July 12, 2020.
Spoilers ahead!
Megan Pete becomes Young Tina Snow
The 112-minute documentary features Megan Thee Stallion giving a first hand account of her life. As she discusses her childhood and later traumatic events, it’s portrayed through anime-style visuals, a clear nod to Megan’s love for the art form.
She describes being surrounded by strong women from a young age. When she discusses her deceased mother, Holly Thomas, she describes a beautiful, tall, “thick” woman. Holly was Meg’s first example of a female emcee. She went by the stage name Holly-Wood.
My mama’s the baddest bitch.
At 5′ 10″, Meg was also statuesque. So during her school days, she was picked on for being tall. Her father, Joseph Pete, Jr., was imprisoned for 8 years, and had a fatal heart attack when Megan was only in the 9th grade. Although she knew her mother was distressed, following his death, they never really discussed it.
Instead, Megan turned to music and Megan the Stallion was born.
Megan Thee Stallion Loses Her Mother
The H Town Hottie began uploading freestyling videos to YouTube and her mother would record them. Meg recalls her mother’s enthusiasm and coaching, one time even stating, “You could twerk harder than that.”
Holly was not only Meg Thee Stallion’s mother, but also her manager. Megan described her mother as “the smartest person in the room.” The documentary shows clips of Holly playing piano alongside Megan and teaching her breath control.
When Holly was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Megan made the painful decision to pull the plug. Her mother passed away the next day in March 2019, right when Meg was on the precipice of commercial success. Losing that guidance at such a pivotal time, was a huge blow.
Rise to Fame
By the summer of 2019, Megan was on award show red carpets, with her best friend Kelsey, by her side. They’d been friends for years by that point, and were more like sisters. After the death of Megan’s mom, they became even closer.
Meg became synonymous with “Hot Girl Summer” and “driving the boat.” “I was definitely drinking like a motherfucker,” she recalls. It was around this time that the young rapper developed a friendship with singer and rapper, Tory Lanez. The two bonded over their deceased mothers.
The Shooting
On July 12, 2020 Tory Lanez shot Megan Thee Stallion in the foot. In the documentary, Megan recalls, “On the night he shot me, I was very confused.” Aside from the driver, Megan, Tory and Kelsey were the only ones in the car. After an argument, Meg got out of the car and began to walk away. That’s when Tory yelled, “Dance, bitch!” and proceeded to shoot her in the foot.
Tory immediately panicked and apologized, offering Meg a million dollars. They were in a residential area, and to her terror, police quickly arrived. This was at the height of social unrest and George Floyd had just been murdered.
We bout to die. These police are bout to kill all of us.
At the hospital, Megan lied and said she stepped on glass. But when her scans came back, doctors could see the bullet fragments in her foot. The doc features a call from an L.A. County jail, While she was still hospitalized, Lanez called Kelsey, apologizing but also asking Kelsey to “bail him out.” Meg suggests that Tory offered to invest in Kelsey’s business ventures, as a way to keep her silent and that the two met up just days after the incident.
Meg vs The World
She expressed disappointment when Kelsey did not come to her defense, following the traumatic event. Instead, Meg’s former bestie took to social media, vaguely suggesting that they fell out over a man, who Kelsey had been with first.
Tory reached out after, so Meg changed her number. But he trolled her online, even including a scene of him chopping up horse legs in a music video.
A man is not gonna be my downfall
But the attack in Megan didn’t stop with Tory. Celebrities, podcast bros, and internet trolls came to his defense, giving him accolades for his music or straight up declaring him as innocent. In Her Words includes a montage of well-known figures —including LeBron James, Diddy, Meek Mill, Joe Budden, and 50 Cent— supporting Tory with no first-hand knowledge.
In one scene, Meg falls onto her bed, exasperated, stating, ‘Everybody hates me.’
They have ran my goddamn name through the ground so bad. And I think it’s cause of how I am, and what I talk about and what I look like. I talk back, I fight back. It’s just me.
“Let’s be real, everybody’s a hoe.”
While 2020 was a tumultuous year, it also brought about one of Megan’s biggest hits. WAP (Wet Ass Pussy) featuring Cardi B released to much fanfare and discussion. The hip hop song topped the charts and polarized audiences across the nation, as talking heads debated its message on female empowerment and explicit content.
Meg shouts, “My body, my choice!” during a concert.
Men literally rap about gang bangs, passing ’em to the homies, giving bitches Percocet, but the worst thing you heard is me talking about my coochie.
In April of 2022, Megan sat down with Gayle King to discuss the 2020 event. When King asked her if she had a sexual relationship with Tory, Meg said no. since the interview, Meg has acknowledged that she had sex with Lanez “once or twice.” That became clear during Lanez’s trial but Megan also admitted to it in the documentary.
Yes bitch, I lied to Gayle King.
Of course, the internet has taken it as gotcha moment. As if lying about having sex with someone is a crime, and just the act of violence brought against her.
Mental Health
Aside from nasty comments online, Megan also received death threats. In one heartwarming scene, legendary choreographer Laurieann Gibson gives an exhausted, bare faced Meg a pep talk.
I feel lonely in every relationship in my life
In November 2022, Megan checked herself into a mental wellness center, canceling shows in Australia. After receiving extensive therapy, she proclaims, “I feel like a new bitch,” on her first day back to work.
On August 8, 2023, Tory was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the shooting. When Meg learned of his conviction, she sobbed and I felt that. After 3 years of people doubting her and uplifting her abuser, it was over. With courage and unapologetic ownership of her story, Megan Thee Stallion leaves audiences inspired by her unyielding spirit.
To be heard, you have to speak.
Megan has continued to see success as a recording artist, but she’s also a mental health advocate. In 2022, she launched the website Bad Bitches Have Bad Days Too. By merely existing, Megan Thee Stallion is a threat to the patriarchy and a beacon for Black women everywhere, who are ready to own their sexuality, unapologetically. Now that’s real hot girl shit.
