Drake expresses support for Tory Lanez after Megan Thee Stallion shooting

Drake is expressing support for Tory Lanez, who is serving a decade in prison for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.

The "God's Plan" rapper, 37, shared an Instagram story on Monday that showed a photo of Lanez alongside the text "3 you," which some followers saw as a call for Lanez to be freed from prison.

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Drake for comment.

The post came after Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, was sentenced in August to 10 years in prison after being convicted of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.

Prosecutors said that Lanez fired a gun at Megan Thee Stallion in 2020 after she got out of an SUV during an argument, leaving her with bullet fragments in her feet.

"Since I was viciously shot by the defendant, I have not experienced a single day of peace," Megan previously said in a written statement. "Slowly but surely, I'm healing and coming back, but I will never be the same."

Tory Lanezbegins prison sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion – and gets a new mugshot

In 2022, Drake and 21 Savage collaborated on the album "Her Loss," and a lyric on the song "Circo Loco" appeared to accuse Megan Thee Stallion of lying about the shooting. "This (expletive) lie 'bout getting shots, but she still a stallion," Drake raps. "She don't even get the joke, but she still smiling."

Megan Thee Stallion took to X, formerly Twitter, at the time to call for rappers to "stop using my shooting for clout." She added in another post, "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."

Drake appeared to again diss Megan Thee Stallion at a concert in Houston, her home town, in September while giving a shout-out to his photographer. "Shout-out to Meg one time for real," he said, according to a video shared on social media. "Not that Meg, this Meg."

Megan Thee Stallion first spoke out about the shooting in 2020, writing on Instagram that she "suffered gunshot wounds, as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me." She later identified Lanez as the alleged shooter.

In an essay for The New York Times in 2020, Megan wrote that "Black women are still constantly disrespected and disregarded in so many areas of life," and the "way people have publicly questioned and debated whether I played a role in my own violent assault" proved that her fears about speaking out on it "were, unfortunately, warranted."

Drake, 21 Savagerelease 'Her Loss': What to know, including that Megan Thee Stallion lyric

Lanez has maintained his innocence, telling fans he will "never let a hard time intimidate me I will never let no jail time eliminate me" in a post on Instagram in 2023.

"Regardless of how they try to spin my words, I have always maintained my innocence and I always will," he said. "This week in court I took responsibility for all verbal and intimate moments that I shared with the parties involved…. That's it. In no way shape or form was I apologizing for the charges I'm being wrongfully convicted of. I remain on the stance that I refuse to apologize for something that I did not do."

In September, a judge denied a request from Lanez's lawyers to allow him to live in Los Angeles with his wife and son amid his appeal process. He is serving his sentence in state prison.

Contributing: Naledi Ushe, Elise Brisco, Edward Segarra