After years of hate comments, image slander and public disbelief, the long-awaited story of “Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words” was released by Amazon Prime Studios on Oct. 31. It follows the growth of artist Megan Pete, known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, before reaching the charts of fame and covers the shooting between her and rapper Tory Lanez, as well as the backlash she received for speaking out against him.
The documentary pulls back the persona of the Houston-based rapper and gives insight into her background, including the heavy influence her mother and fellow rapper, Holly Thomas, had on her life and career. From a young age, Pete had been surrounded by the women in her family who taught her to stand her ground while her father was incarcerated and even after his death. Moving forward, she maintained a strong face for her mom and created “Megan Thee Stallion” not only as a stage name but also as an identity of protection.
In 2016, the rapper began to gain recognition after recording and releasing music videos while receiving guidance from her mom at the beginning of her career. Three years later, Thomas was diagnosed with a brain tumor and placed into an induced coma, leaving her brain dead. After deciding to let her mom go, the rapper returned to performing and engulfed herself in the scene. The documentary shows how she turned to alcohol as a way to cope with the loss of her mother, as well as the loss of direction she felt as an up-and-coming artist.
At the same time, the self-proclaimed “Hot Girl Coach” earned a win for Best Mixtape at the 2019 BET Awards, a VMA Moon Person for Power Anthem and the Billboard Women in Music award. Her song “Savage” reigned big in 2020 during the lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic as a trending dance song on TikTok among regular people and celebrities. It became the #1 song in the country. However, what capitulated her success even further was fulfilling a long-time wish of collaborating with Beyoncé as the song was re-released as a remix.
Pete describes that year as “the worst year of my life.” Her friendship with Tory Lanez sprouted over the shared experience of losing their mom, with Pete viewing him as a support person. She recalls the event leading up to the shooting where, after a heated argument, Lanez aimed and shot his gun at Pete, hitting her in the foot. Due to the heightened tensions between the Black community and police officers, specifically after the death of George Floyd, Pete lied about her injury, blaming it on broken glass. Before news broke about Lanez’s actions, Kelsey Harris, Pete’s former best friend who witnessed the shooting, is heard speaking to Lanez over the Los Angeles Police Department jail phone. Lanez apologizes and requests that she and Pete devise a way to bail him out, even offering to pay $1 million to avoid charges being pressed against him.
That summer, Megan Thee Stallion released her third #1 song of 2020, “WAP,” with Cardi B, breaking records as the most streamed song in its first week of release. Intended as an anthem of empowerment for women to uplift themselves and each other, the reaction from male rappers, conservative news outlets and alpha-male podcasters ridiculed the initial “My body, my choice” movement as being oversexualized and vulgar. Shortly after, the case against Tory Lanez by the state of California became public, opening a floodgate of hatred at Pete, villainizing her and the court case as a takedown against Lanez.
The documentary is divided into three chapters, and “Chapter 2: Alone in the Spotlight” includes the CBS Morning with Gayle King interview from April 2022, where Megan Thee Stallion discusses the negative toll social media has had on her anxiety. The focus on the shooting shifts when asked about “the nature of her relationship with Tory Lanez,” specifically if it was sexual. Taken aback, Megan lies to redirect the point of the conversation; this worsens the attack on her image as viewers pick apart the interview and her response and continue to blame her for Tory Lanez being convicted.
Circulation of their alleged relationship progresses on the internet, where Harris speaks out against Pete after learning they both had relations with him. What’s evident is when Pete isn’t rehearsing or performing, she tracks social media and absorbs the negative things people are saying about her with the hope of someone coming to her defense. The overwhelming feeling of “Everybody hates me” is a common theme that carries from her early years of being bullied to who she is as a person. The thought doesn’t cease to stop, even around people in her circle or those who pay to see her perform, which heightens her anxiety because of the death threats people on the internet send her way.
In response, the Houston rapper states, “I think it’s ‘cause of how I am and what I talk about and what I look like. I talk back, I fight back. It’s just me. I’m getting tired of it.” This realization prompts Pete to release her most personal album, “Traumazine,” to “help people understand the mindset that I’m in” and try to control the narrative of her story.
The third and final chapter of the documentary, “The Savage Within,” follows Pete’s post-wellness retreat, where she took a month off from social media and touring and dabbled in different forms of therapy to regulate her anxiety after the shooting. Around the same time, Pete begins the trial against her shooter as she shares how she felt before testifying in front of him and everyone in the room, even making the fashion choice of a purple suit, a color commonly associated with domestic violence victims. The documentary makes the artistic choice to switch between live footage of concert performances and behind-the-scenes clips to animation-style drawings, used during scenes about the shooting, the trial and the creation of the Megan Thee Stallion persona, a potential nod to Pete’s love of anime.
In Dec. 2022, Tory Lanez was convicted of three felonies, news that caused Pete to break down in tears. After years of disbelief and antagonizing remarks from the public, this sentencing feels like a validation of her experience and her position as the person this event happened to. 2024 is coined “the year of the Stallion” by topping the Billboard Global Chart at #1 with her single “HISS,” making her the first solo female rapper to do so. She officially claimed the summer with the “Hot Girl Summer Tour” and released her debut self-titled album.
It’s a come-up story of an artist who has gained momentum fast and follows the ups and downs of entering fame, figuring out the industry, facing misdirection and refinding her path. Despite the seemingly never-ending hurdles in her story from childhood to now, Megan Pete has displayed incredible strength without the guiding light of her support system but with the protection of Megan Thee Stallion. It’s an honest look inside the making of a performer and the emotional toll it can have, showing the details that their fanbase and the public aren’t used to seeing.
“Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words” is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Rating: 5/5
