Pardison Fontaine has issued a statement in support of women who have been victimized, as the trial surrounding Megan Thee Stallion‘s 2020 shooting has come to a close.
The songwriter posted the message via his Instagram Story on Thursday afternoon (December 22), just hours after attorneys on both sides delivered their closing arguments in the highly publicized court case. While he did not reference Megan directly, Pardi’s words seemed influenced by the events of the last few days, during which his partner’s account of the shooting incident came under further scrutiny.
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“To any woman especially ones of color that has suffered an injustice I feel for you,” Pardison Fontaine wrote. “When you do find the courage to speak up .. it seems you will be ridiculed .. your credibility will be questions.. your entire past will be held under a magnifying glass .. in an instant you can go from victim to defendant in the eyes of the public ..
He continued: “To any one with a daughter Sister mother niece or aunt .. I pray for their protection .. I pray for their covering .. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”
News surrounding the nearly two-week long trial was dominated by the bombshell testimony by Kelsey Harris who had been expected to corroborate Meg’s account of the moments that led up to her shooting. Instead, Harris delivered a statement that contradicted her former friend and employer’s testimony almost entirely.
Whereas Megan Thee Stallion told the court that Tory Lanez had offered her $1 million in exchange for her silence about what took place on the night of July 12, 2020, Kelsey Harris told both the prosecution and the defense that she had not been offered any such payment.
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Harris also contradicted a statement she had given to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office in September, where she had confirmed some of the details which Megan Thee Stallion has held fast to since identifying Tory Lanez as her alleged shooter.
Kelsey Harris’ testimony was one of several points of contention over which the prosecution and Tory Lanez’s attorney were at odds since the start of the trial on December 12. And as both sides made their final arguments to the jury on Thursday, each highlighted moments from the trial which they felt had gone their way.
According to Los Angeles Times reporter Jonah Valdez, who shared notes from the trial via Twitter, prosecutors brought the jury’s attention back to previous testimony by three firearms experts regarding the absence of DNA evidence on the gun. Prosecutors, on the other hand, redirected the jury to consider the firsthand account provided by a number of witnesses.
“Defense attorneys reminded jurors of the lack of DNA evidence in the case, which was inconclusive and that Tory’s DNA didn’t show up on the gun or magazine,” Valdez tweeted. “They continued to place the gun, and blame, on Kelsey Harris, Meg’s ex-bff.”
“Prosecutors rebutted, saying many convictions happen w/o DNA,” he wrote in a separate tweet, “and reminded jurors of the firsthand accounts from witnesses, such as Sean Kelly, a neighbor who had seen the shooting. Kelly had testified he saw muzzle flashes coming from a short man and heard the sound of shots.”
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, the Los Angeles Superior Court office of public information announced that a few minutes before the end of their session, the jurors requested that Judge David Herriford provide “a better definition of the word ‘willfully’ and ‘on purpose'” for the sake of their deliberation.
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The jury had been given the option of continuing their deliberation after the Christmas holiday if they were unable to reach a decision on Thursday. However, they have decided to resume on Friday morning (December 23).
