Tory Lanez's appeal over Megan Thee Stallion shooting fails

Rapper Tory Lanez's appeal against his conviction and sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot has failed.

The Canadian hip-hop star argued that errors had been made during his trial over the 2020 attack, and that his 10-year prison term was too harsh.

But a panel of judges in Los Angeles rejected his claims and said he had not been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Lanez, real name Daystar Peterson, was sentenced in 2023 after being found guilty of three gun-related charges. He has always insisted he is innocent.

Lanez and fellow musician Megan Thee Stallion, real name Megan Pete, got into an argument as they drove away from a pool party at reality star Kylie Jenner's Hollywood mansion.

Megan told jurors she had demanded to be let out of the vehicle, prompting Lanez to start shooting at the ground and shouting at her to "dance".

She was hit, and required surgery to remove bullet fragments from her foot.

Megan admitted during the trial that she had initially said she'd "stepped on glass" because she feared that no one would believe Lanez had shot her.

Lawyers for Lanez had argued that the original trial judge should not have allowed various pieces of evidence to be put in front of the jury.

These included certain questions put to Megan during her witness testimony, discussion of Lanez's tattoos and a reference to a previous criminal case in Florida.

They also argued that an error was made when jurors were given instructions on the charges in the case before considering their verdict.

The appeal judges rejected all of Lanez's arguments and said that, where mistakes had been made by the court, they would not have affected the overall outcome of the case.

The case divided the hip-hop world with rappers - including 50 Cent and Iggy Azalea - appearing to take sides in the conflict. Some of them wrote to the court to ask for leniency in Lanez's sentencing.

Lanez had seven US top 10 albums in the seven years before his conviction. He has released new music while he's been in prison.

He was also stabbed 14 times by another inmate in May this year, and a convicted killer was named as a suspect in the attack.

Lanez is also due to be interviewed by lawyers in a defamation case Megan has brought against a blogger who she accuses of spreading false narratives about her.