Last week, Drake came under fire when he appeared to accuse Megan Thee Stallion of lying about being shot in a new song.
He and 21 Savage target Megan in “Circo Loco,” a track on their joint album, Her Loss, which was released on Friday.
“This bitch lie ‘bout getting shot but she still a stallion / She don’t even get the joke but she still smiling,” Drake raps in the song.
The line sparked immediate backlash, with many criticizing Drake for fueling a “ridiculous conspiracy theory” about Megan, who was shot in the foot in July 2020.
Megan was leaving a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s house when the shooting occurred, and she wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post at the time: “On Sunday morning, I suffered gunshot wounds, as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me."
Almost immediately, the star was questioned on the validity of her story — and the scrutiny got even worse when she accused Canadian rapper Tory Lanez of being the perpetrator.
Megan attempted to shut down speculation that she was lying by sharing a graphic photo of her injuries to Instagram, asking in the caption: “Why would I lie about being shot?”
And in June of this year, Megan addressed the scrutiny again as she told Rolling Stone that social media painted her as the “villain” in the shooting.
Quoting accusations that she was lying about what happened, the rapper told the publication: “In some kind of way, I became the villain. And I don’t know if people don’t take it seriously because I seem strong."
“I wonder if it’s because of the way I look. Is it because I’m not light enough? Is it that I’m not white enough? Am I not the shape? The height? Because I’m not petite?" she went on. “Do I not seem like I’m worth being treated like a woman?”
Megan spoke out again after Drake’s new release, accusing him of using her shooting “for clout” as she responded to his controversial lyrics on Twitter.
“I know I’m very popular but y’all gotta stop attaching weak ass conspiracy theories in bars to my name,” Megan wrote.
I know I’m very popular but y’all gotta stop attaching weak ass conspiracy theories in bars to my name lol Niggas nor hoes EVER address me or @ me WITH a fact or receipts. I AM CLOUT BITCH keep sucking my pussy
“Stop using my shooting for clout bitch ass Niggas! Since when tf is it cool to joke abt women getting shot !” she said in another tweet. “You niggas especially RAP NIGGAS ARE LAME! Ready to boycott bout shoes and clothes but dog pile on a black woman when she say one of y’all homeboys abused her.”
Stop using my shooting for clout bitch ass Niggas! Since when tf is it cool to joke abt women getting shot ! You niggas especially RAP NIGGAS ARE LAME! Ready to boycott bout shoes and clothes but dog pile on a black woman when she say one of y’all homeboys abused her
“And when the mf facts come out remember all y’all hoe ass favorite rappers that stood behind a Nigga that SHOT A FEMALE,” Megan continued. “People attack me y’all go up for it , i defend myself now I’m doing too much … every time it never ends and this did NOT happen until I came out and said I got shot … y’all don’t fwm okay cool fuck it bye.”
And when the mf facts come out remember all y’all hoe ass favorite rappers that stood behind a Nigga that SHOT A FEMALE
Many people sided with Megan at the time, with some reflecting on how “exhausting” it must be for the star to have to constantly defend herself against such baseless claims.
“I can’t imagine how exhausting it is for her to have to stand up for herself over and over again,” someone posted on a Reddit thread. “She’s honestly so right about rappers using her assault for attention. I can’t stand all these people who jump to the conclusion of ‘she’s lying because I said so’ bullshit. No amount of conviction can change the reality of what happened to her. These people are so desperate and pathetic.”
“The shitty thing is that Tory did not have this much support and clout before the shooting,” another pointed out. “The fact that he shot a successful black woman is why he's getting all these features and shout outs from different celebs.”
“Welp. that’s the final straw on Drake for me,” another person said. “Why do we have to jump through so many hoops to be believed. and for the record, fuck anyone who continues this insane narrative that Megan* is lying.”
“She doesn’t deserve this. Shame on Drake and all these losers for making jabs about her trauma,” one more person wrote.
Which is why many were surprised to see Kim Kardashian use Drake’s controversial song in an Instagram story post on Wednesday.
Kim reposted a video of herself that had been shared by her hairstylist Chris Appleton, which used “Circo Loco” as accompanying music.
While the snippet did not include the line about Megan, many of Kim’s followers felt that it was irresponsible and “problematic” for her to use the track in any capacity.
Posting about it on Reddit, one person wrote: “Kim reposting A drake song that has lyrics making fun of Meg the stallion getting shot is Problematic.”
“There’s no excuse for Kim here , I love Kim but she has to be more responsible, people that are saying otherwise are being weird , I feel bad for Meg,” someone else added.
Others pointed out that Kim would likely be well aware of the controversy, as the shooting happened after her own sister’s party.
“It’s beyond fucked. Especially since Meg was leaving a party at Kylie’s when it happened. Fuck Kim,” a user wrote.
Another echoed: “Meg the stallion got shot , Kim don’t gaf and the crazy thing about it is that Kylie was with Megan that night prior to her getting shot , she only cares about engagement and clout.”
Kim’s own terrifying experience with gun violence was also brought up, with the star being robbed at gunpoint in Paris back in October 2016.
The star broke down in tears as she recounted the “seven or eight minutes of torture” in a 2020 interview with David Letterman, where she shared her fear that she’d be murdered or sexually assaulted by the assailants.
“The fans in here would go batshit crazy if anyone dared to say Kim faked her robbery . Yet it’s fine to say that shit about MTS,” one person wrote.
“This is a good point , if this happened to Kim people tune would change , if somebody said that Kim lied about Kim robbed in Paris everyone in here would be pissed and rightfully so,” someone else agreed.
“People in here don’t care that a black woman got shot 🧐 and Kim is reposting a song on her page that has words about that woman getting shot , let somebody post a song about a Kim getting robbed or shot and see how the tune changes,” one more added.
BuzzFeed News has contacted Kim’s rep for comment.
In April, Megan spoke openly about the events that led up to the shooting during an interview with CBS Mornings. The star said that an “argument” had broken out because she “was ready to go, and everybody else wasn’t ready to go.”
“But that’s, like, normal friend stuff… We fuss over silly stuff all the time,” Megan added. “But I never put my hands on anybody. I never raised my voice too loud… It shouldn’t have got this crazy.”
Music megastar @theestallion sits down exclusively with @GayleKing for her first TV interview addressing the 2020 shooting allegedly involving rapper Tory Lanez, Monday on #CBSMornings. Tory Lanez pleaded not guilty to an assault charge related to the alleged shooting.
"All I hear is this man screaming. And he said, 'Dance, bitch.' And he started shooting,” the rapper emotionally recalled.
Megan went on to explain that she “didn’t want to move too quick” because she was scared she’d be shot somewhere “important” if she took a “wrong step.”
“I don't know if he could shoot me and kill me,” she said. “I was really scared, 'cause I had never been shot at before.”
Tory was charged with felony assault against Megan in October 2020, and he has repeatedly denied the allegations. His trial was recently postponed to December of this year.
Last month, Tory was placed under house arrest ahead of the trial after a judge ruled that he’d violated the conditions of his bail.
