Bun B has reacted to news of Tory Lanez‘s 10-year imprisonment for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, calling it a “wake-up call” for domestic violence.
TMZ stopped the Texas rap legend in NYC on Thursday (August 10) to get his thoughts on Lanez’s sentencing. When asked if the decision was a “wake-up call for Hip Hop,” he responded by saying it was a “wake-up call for violence against women” in general.
“I think it’s a wake-up call for violence against women,” he stated. “I don’t think this has anything to do with Hip Hop. If there were nobody in Hip Hop involved in this, this would still not be a good thing for us to see in this world right now.”
Bun B was also asked if he had any words of encouragement for Tory, to which he replied: “Look man, just keep your head up, you know? Obviously, Tory might not be the biggest fan of mine, but I don’t wish prison on anybody and I hope he comes home safe.”
In August 2020, shortly after Megan Thee Stallion identified Tory Lanez as the shooter, Bun B condemned the Canadian rapper for doing “some hoe-ass shit” in an impassioned address on Instagram.
“I tried to be impartial and cool about this — man, fuck that! Fuck Tory Lanez, okay,” he said. “And I don’t care if this go viral. I’m from Houston and if somebody woulda done something to Meg in this city, we woulda rode.
“Meg in L.A. by herself. It’s just her and [her manager] T. Farris. She ain’t got her momma no more, her daddy’s gone, her grandmother’s gone — all the people that loved her and cared about her unconditionally ain’t there.”
He continued: “So as the O.G. in Houston, I’m standing up. Tory Lanez did some hoe-ass shit, period. Yeah, I know Tory, I know his manager, I know all of ’em. Fuck all that, though. If the man on drugs, get him some goddamn rehab. If the man got mental health issues, get him some therapy.
“But you not gon’ just sit here and shoot this girl, and we not say nothing. This is not real n-gga shit, it’s not! Anytime a man hurts a woman, that’s obsession. That ain’t love, that’s obsession. He had no reason to shoot this girl.”
Tory Lanez responded to Bun’s comments the following month on his DAYSTAR song “Sorry But I Had To…”
“We got Bun B on Live sayin’ I should burn in a cage/ In these times of Black lives, he sayin’ I should turn to a slave/ If [inaudible] heard that, then my n-gga would have a rage right now,” he rapped.
“No diss to Pimp and Bun, but you made ‘Big Pimpin,’ son/ Pourin’ champagne on women faces while they flick they tongue/ I’m too young to give you lessons, but I’d like to give you one/ Please stay the fuck up out my case, I ain’t convicted, son.”
Bun B revisited his comments in December 2020, and stood by siding with Megan Thee Stallion to “protect our Black women.”
“I mean, people are usually waiting for that first person to say something, and then more and more people will step to the table,” he told HotNewHipHop. “I feel like if I hadn’t said anything, I’m not sure how much people would have even spoken on this issue.
“And if my relationship with Tory Lanez is damaged, then so be it. We have to protect our Black women and any Black man that doesn’t feel the same way is not my brother.”