美国国家公共电台 NPR--Megan Thee Stallion takes the stand in the trial of rapper Tory Lanez

Megan Thee Stallion takes the stand in the trial of rapper Tory Lanez

Transcript¹

Rapper Megan Pete, known as Megan Thee Stallion, took the stand in a LA courtroom to testify against rapper Tory Lanez. Pete says Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, shot her in 2020.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The rapper Megan Pete, better known as Megan Thee Stallion, testified in a Los Angeles courtroom yesterday against fellow rapper Daystar Peterson, who performs under the name Tory Lanez. Now, Pete alleges² that Peterson shot her during an argument in 2020. The trial has been a hot topic among fans and other artists and has sparked conversations around male dominance and violence against women in the hip-hop community. NPR's Sidney Madden is the host of our podcast Louder Than a Riot and has been following this trial. All right, Sidney, so fill us in on how we got here. The two were friends, but she says that he shot her a couple of years ago.

SIDNEY MADDEN, BYLINE³: Yes, the two were friends. And we've even learned in court proceedings⁴ in the last couple of days that they had an intimate relationship before the night of July 12, 2020. That's when the two were leaving an LA pool party in the early morning hours in a vehicle. And that's when an argument broke out between herself, Tory and Megan's former friend Kelsey that resulted in Megan being shot in both feet. And that's really the fastest way to say it. There's a lot of details associated with this case. Now, Tory is pleading not guilty on all three of the charges he's facing - assault with a semiautomatic firearm, possession of that concealed⁵ firearm and negligent⁶ discharge of that firearm. And his defense⁷ asserts that he was not the shooter that night. But Meg took the stand yesterday and shared in great detail and through many tears that he very much was the shooter.

MART?NEZ: Now, both Pete and Peterson have very vocal⁸ fans, so they're supporting each of them. Tell us, though, about some of the conversations that this trial has sparked about violence against women in hip-hop.

MADDEN: Yeah. So in the age of social media, a lot of the details of the case leading up to this trial and also a lot of misinformation has been shared online that's really sparked and catalyzed⁹ debate online about who is telling the truth. Like, up until a couple months ago, for example, a lot of naysayers didn't even believe that Megan was shot in the feet. You can think of this as kind of a classic he-said, she-said but magnified to the nth degree because of the hypersaturation and the news cycle of hip-hop. Then there's an added layer of hip-hop that incorporates deep-seated misogyny that really permeates¹⁰ through hip-hop's foundations and, I mean, also society writ¹¹ large, really. And it's one that often casts doubt on survivors¹² of domestic violence, especially Black women. So this back-and-forth of this case has really become a flashpoint in the lineage of that constant struggle within the culture.

MART?NEZ: Didn't believe she was shot. I mean, weren't there pictures? I thought I saw pictures.

MADDEN: There were - there was a lot. There was a lot of evidence. There was a lot of misconstrued information. And there was also a lot of people casting doubt because Megan originally said to responding officers that she stepped on glass and was not shot in the foot. That's something that she had to repute and really clarify in court yesterday. And she said one of the main reasons she did that originally is because of her own distrust of the police and wanting to protect Tory, her aggressor.

MART?NEZ: And really quick, you're going to be the courtroom this week. What's next for this trial?

MADDEN: Yeah. So, so far, there's been opening statements and testimony¹³ from the arresting officer that night, the detective on the case. And then, like I said, yesterday, Megan herself gave really emotional testimony. But coming up this week, we have Kelsey Harris, who's Megan's former friend, who was the witness that night, a firearms expert and then even possibly the reality TV star and socialite Kylie Jenner may take the stand because it was her party they were leaving that night.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Sidney Madden, host of the podcast Louder Than a Riot. Sidney, thanks.

MADDEN: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

5 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

6 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

9 catalyzed   

v.催化，促进( catalyze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Modern technology catalyzed tremendous economic growth in China. 现代技术促成了中国经济的巨大发展。 来自辞典例句
• The mechanisms of sorption-catalyzed organophosphate hydrolysis are not well understood. 吸附催化水解有机磷的机制还不太清楚。 来自辞典例句

10 permeates   

弥漫( permeate的第三人称单数 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透

参考例句：

• Studies show that water vapor quickly permeates plastic packaging material. 研究证明水蒸汽能迅速渗入塑料封装材料。
• Democracy permeates the whole country. 民主主义（的思想）普及全国。

11 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

12 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

13 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。