After rapper Megan thee Stallion’s introduction to the world with her smash single “Big Ole’ Freak” in 2019, we witnessed her almost instantaneous rise to stardom. Megan thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, has been packaged and presented as a charismatic, unapologetic, sexually liberated lyricist, exuding nothing less than fearlessness – making the Houston-born Hottie a household name. As Megan began climbing the Billboard charts, selling out concerts, and garnering millions of fans, she appeared to be living the rap girl dream.
However, the public doesn’t know that Megan is much more than the fiery powerhouse she’s portrayed as. In a full-length, two-hour documentary titled, Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words, the rapper runs us through an in-depth timeline of her life, giving us insight into both her personal and professional lives – from her perspective and her perspective only. The documentary, directed by award-winning filmmaker Nneka Onuorah, features raw footage of Megan’s journey and life-like animation depicting the storyline. Megan narrates the story — in many instances, tearfully — explaining the events of losing both parents, experiencing success, surviving gun violence, struggling with mental health issues, and discovering resilience.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the documentary.
Family Ties: The Loss of Holly Thomas
Throughout the documentary, Megan couldn’t hold back her emotions when speaking about her mother, Holly Thomas. Thomas, who also served as Megan’s manager, died in March 2019 from a cancerous brain tumor. When speaking about her mother, the rapper frequently dabbed her watery eyes with a tissue, recounting how influential the late Thomas was to her during the early stages of her career. “She was like everything I feel like a strong woman is,” Megan explained. “I was so used to my mama telling me what to do, and when life started getting crazy, I didn’t have her.”
To make light of such a sad topic, Megan momentarily laughed and shared anecdotes about the tasks her mother would complete to help Megan’s career, like recording her freestyle videos or instructing her on how to dance when posting on social media. In the midst of describing her mother, Megan also spoke about her short-lived relationship with her father, who spent the first eight years of her life in prison and suddenly passed before she reached 16 years old.
Soon after Thomas’ death, Megan’s career began to skyrocket, with the release of several chart-topping singles, big-name features on her songs, and winning awards. Through all the commotion of fame, Megan began hiding the pain of losing her mother with alcohol and excessive partying.
July 2020 Shooting and Aftermath
In vague detail, Megan explained the series of events that led up to her being shot in both feet by fellow musician Tory Lanez on the night of July 15th, 2020, after a house party in Los Angeles. After news broke about the shooting, social media caught on fire and the public began to question exactly what happened that night. Lanez was soon after charged with the shooting.
For two years until the trial began in December 2022, the Grammy Award winner was continuously taunted on social media by celebrities, the general public, and Tory Lanez, accusing her of fabricating her story of the shooting. Megan’s former best friend and witness in the shooting, Kelsey Harris, also took to social media to discredit the artist. After enduring such scrutiny, Megan started to reach the end of her rope.
“Ever since I got shot, I started having anxiety about performing,” Megan said in recollection. “I always think somebody gonna do something to me. Guys online say, ‘You should have gotten shot in the head. He should have finished the job. He should have killed your a–. You’re always twerking, b—, you deserved what you got.’”
In October 2022, shortly before trial, Megan’s Los Angeles home was burglarized while she was hosting Saturday Night Live in New York.
The spiraling of such unfortunate events began taking a toll on the star’s health, so much so that she underwent mental health treatment for one month at an unnamed facility in November 2022 to process the shooting and other traumas.
The documentary concluded with Megan sobbing in the arms of a member of her camp after receiving news that Lanez was convicted of the shooting and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Public Perception and Backlash
Following the release of Megan’s documentary, fans and spectators alike took to social media to express their thoughts about the film. Many people felt that Megan was finally being humanized. Some went on to condemn the blogs and people mentioned in the documentary who spoke ill of Megan during her lowest point.
They could NEVER make me hate you, Megan Thee Stallion
— I appreciate you. (@DeeLaSheeArt) November 2, 2024
Even after being praised for the vulnerability and strength she expressed in the doc, people continue to ridicule the “Savage” rapper for something revealed in the film that wasn’t so pleasant. During a 2022 CBS Mornings interview with journalist Gayle King, Megan was asked to recall the night of the 2020 shooting. After a while of explaining the incident, King asked Megan if she had any sexual relations with Tory Lanez. Megan claimed she had not had sexual relations with Lanez. In the doc, Megan admits that she did have sex with Lanez and that King’s question was not relevant to the crimes.
King has since responded to the clip from the doc and expressed no ill feelings about Megan’s statements.
Despite such positive public reaction, Megan’s admission of lying to Gayle King has led some people to question the validity of her claims that Tory Lanez shot her.
Megan has not made a statement addressing the clip.
We Need to Free Megan thee Stallion
Much like many Black women, not just in entertainment, Megan’s hard-core, sexy image has made it difficult for her to be perceived as human, let alone a victim of violence. In spite of amassing an extremely successful career as an entertainer, overcoming mental health problems, and several other life-altering occurrences, Megan’s personal life is still on display for millions of people to judge. When the star’s name is said in casual conversation, no one ever fails to mention the shooting that occurred almost five years ago. It is time that the public begins to recognize Megan only for the powerful barriers she has broken within the entertainment industry and not for the trauma she has been through.
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