Mario has faced some serious backlash after it was revealed he wrote a letter in support of Tory Lanez ahead of his sentencing in the Megan Thee Stallion shooting case.
The R&B singer was one of over 70 people who penned a letter to Tory’s judge, who ultimately sentenced the rapper to 10 years in prison on Tuesday (August 8) for firing several shots at the Houston Hottie in July 2020, wounding her feet.
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In the letter, which was written on July 26 and obtained by Law&Crime reporter Meghann Cuniff, Mario described Tory as “a standup individual” who “cares about his family” deeply and “loves to give back to his community.”
“I have never seen Tory act out of character in a manner to hurt someone,” he wrote in part, later adding: “The situation at hand comes as a surprise to so many of us who know Tory personally.”
After news of Mario’s letter spread, social media users were quick to criticize him for supporting Lanez, who was found guilty of shooting Megan back in December.
“I can’t believe Mario wrote a letter for Tory Lanez… sir how could you,” wrote one disappointed fan on Twitter.
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“Why would Tory think a letter from Mario would have any significance on his trial,” another person joked. “Like I got tears in my eyes fse.”
“The fact that Iggy Azalea, Steflon Don and Mario all wrote letters basically saying ‘well I’ve never pErSoNaLlY seen Tory be abusive so he couldn’t pOsSiBlY be, it’s just nOt In HiS cHaRaCtEr, y’all so stupid and disgusting,” someone else added.
Mario and Tory Lanez previously collaborated on the latter’s Chixtape 5 song “The Cry” in 2019, which was a revamp of the former’s 2006 hit “Crying Out For Me.”
It was recently revealed that Iggy Azalea had penned an even lengthier letter to Tory’s judge, and even took it a step further by hiring a few of the employees he left behind.
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In the letter, which was written in February, she claimed that the Canadian rapper (real name Daystar Peterson) wasn’t an “abuser” and that she hoped the judge would offer him some “leniency” when it came to sentencing him.
While her letter of support was largely unsuccessful, with Lanez being given 10 years for the July 2020 shooting, she did reveal that she’s hired six members of the incarcerated rapper’s team to help both them and Tory “get back to work” once he regains his freedom.
“Since Daystar remains in jail, many of his employees are left without work,” she wrote in part. “I took it upon myself to hire six of his staff members, full time.
“I did this not only because they are great hardworking people, but so that they remain in a position to transition back into running his business when he’s completed his sentence. I’m doing all I can to make sure he’s in a position to come home and get back to work.”
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It was reported during Tory Lanez’s sentencing earlier this week that Judge David Herriford had received over 70 letters in support of the rapper, with one of the most notable coming from Azalea.
