by Sharelle B. McNair
May 19, 2025
Calls for a pardon resurfaced after the “Say It” artist suffered a brutal attack in prison
Celebrities like Chris Brown, Drake, and Amber Rose agree with over 266,000 people who signed a petition calling for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to pardon incarcerated singer Tory Lanez.
The petition on Change.org outlines alleged legal reasons why the governor should release the Canadian artist, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, from prison. The conviction wasn’t supported by conclusive physical evidence, according to the rapper’s legal team, including Lanez’s DNA not being found on the firearm’s magazine, and gunshot residue being detected on both Lanez and Kelsey Harris. However, they allege Lanez’s DNA was the only one tested.
In addition, attorneys claim affidavits and eyewitness accounts contradicting the prosecution’s narrative were ignored.
Creators of the petition, the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety, leaned on the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to push for Newsom to grant a pardon.
“As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. warned, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” this is one of those moments,” the petition read.
“We respectfully call on Governor Newsom to: grant a full pardon to Tory Lanez, remove politically motivated sentencing enhancements and order a full and impartial review of the case to ensure no one else is subjected to a similar injustice. Justice must be rooted in due process, fairness, and truth—not politics.”
Calls for a pardon resurfaced after the “Say It” artist suffered a brutal attack in prison, where he is serving a 10-year sentence for allegedly shooting fellow rapper Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, in 2020. Lanez was allegedly stabbed 14 times on May 12 after an altercation with a fellow California Correctional Institution inmate.
It also comes after a bombshell revelation alleging it wasn’t Lanez who shot the “Hot Girl” rapper but Harris, Meg’s former best friend, for the shooting. Harris’s bodyguard allegedly came forward with new evidence. However, since the new claims have yet to be filed in court, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Meg’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said the trial is done with and is pushing back against claims that the matter is political.
“Tory Lanez was tried and convicted by a jury of his peers and his case was properly adjudicated through the court system,” Spiro said.
“This is not a political matter — this is a case of a violent assault that was resolved in the court of law.”
Newsom, who has been called a popular candidate to potentially run for the White House in 2028, has yet to come forward with any updates on whether he is considering a pardon or even if he’s been in discussion about it. However, supporters like Drake have high hopes, using Instagram to call for Lanez to “come home soon.”
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