♪ i cross my heart and hope to die ♪ [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this is "nightline." >> juju: tonight, tory lanez sentenced. ♪ a judge ordering the "sing it" singer to serve ten years for

shooting grammy award winner megan thee stallion. >> engaged in a pattern of conduct that was intended ed t intimidate, silence her, and keeping her from bringing her truth out. >> the powerful statement the "body" performer shared in court. >> it really kind of reminded people that there was only one victim in this case, a woman was shot. that woman was meg thee stallion. >> why it has implications far beyond the world of hip-hop. >> megan thee stallion was not on trial, yet we saw culturally, she was. plus alabama dock brawl. the investigation into the montgomery melee now seen by millions. >> we're going to go where this investigation leads us. nebra no one's off limits. >> a riverboat captain attacked by a group of white bodiers before some eyewitnesses step in. >> it was a case where black

people were able to intervene and stop what may have been something way more nefarious happen is. >> why some say this confrontation goes much deeper than a viral video. and what we're now learning about the suspects and the charges. ♪ check it out ♪ and cha-cha slime. celebrating the chicago deejay who inspired generations to dance as one. it's a great lot. and the previous owner was really into diy... okay... automatic shades. stair slide! at least we could bundle our home and car insurance with geico. true. - super slippery. whoo! is that a chinchilla? yes! wait till you see this. a murphy tub! finding a perfect home is hard. thankfully, geico makes it easy to bundle and save. whaaaat?? look at all that floor space!

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♪ good evening. i'm stephanie ramos. we begin with a dramatic sentencing late today in a california courtroom. singer/songwriter tory lanez will face a decade behind bars for shooting fellow hip-hop star megan thee stallion. a case that sparked controversy but also deep conversation about violence against black women. abc's zohreen shah is in los angeles. >> reporter: this los angeles courthouse on once again at the center of the legal saga that's captivated the music industry and beyond. tory lanez's role in the shooting of hip-hop star megan thee stallion, the canadian rapper known for hits like "love."

♪ everyone falls in love sometime ♪ ♪ you gonna have to do more than just say it ♪ >> reporter: and "say it." sentenced today to ten years for shooting megan thee stallion in 2020. you were in the room when the sentence came down. what was the room's reaction? >> there were a few gasps, a few sighs. i think people knew it was coming. >> tory lanez's attorneys were asking for probation and substance abuse help, saying alcohol played a large role. i think a lot of those arguments fell on deaf ears. >> this case has been significant because it's allowed us to have a really uncomfortable conversation about the mistreatment of black women. it's been a conversation that i think a lot of people have been uncomfortable to have. >> reporter: megan, known for hits like "body." ♪ body yada yada yada yada ♪ >> reporter: and "hot girl

summer." ♪ who gonna handle me ♪ >> reporter: nowhere near the courtroom but made her voice heard. a victim impact statement delivered on her behalf. >> they talked about the mental health impact of the shooting on her life. she's physically recovered but the letter conveys the emotional scarring. >> reporter: the 28-year-old urging the judge for a stiff sentence, saying she has not experienced a single day of peace since the incident, added her statement was for all survivors, that their lives matter and that there is zero-tolerance for the torture that accompanies violence. >> i think meg thee stallion having a victim impact statement being read was important because it really kind of reminded people that there was only one victim in this case. a woman was shot. that woman was meg thee stallion. i think a lot of times that fact got lost. >> reporter: the 31-year-old lanezs was convicted last year, but he and his legal team have

glide to delay sentencing. >> the ten years is not expected. he could have gone to jail for 22 years and 8 months. because of sentencing guidelines, it's much lower. tory lanez is not an american citizen, so the immigration implications come with it as well. >> reporter: over the course of two day, seven people speaking out in support of lanez, including his father, asking the judge for leniency. chaplain miles mac tierney describing lanez as a man who values his faith. >> what are these prayer calls? >> he started this thing called a prayer call where everybody turns off the tv at 9:00, and then he initiates a thing where he starts praying or breaking into scripture, and everybody follows suit. >> reporter: lanez addressing the judge saying, if i could change that night, i would. >> he pretty much asked for a second chance that he didn't want his life reduced to this one terrible decision. of course, he did not admit to

the shooting. i wouldn't say he necessarily apologized but he said he cared for her. >> reporter: the defense submitted 76 letters of recommendation, including one from pop star iggy azalea, later posting, she didn't know the letter was going to be made public saying, "i don't support anyone." lanez's legal team outside the courthouse calling the sentence too harsh. >>id not get the sentence we certainly hoped for. i have seen cases, vehicular homicide and other cases, where there's death. and the person still gets less than ten years. >> reporter: the prosecutors standing by the outcome of the case. >> over the past three years, mr. peterson has engaged in a pattern of conduct that was intended to intimidate miss pete, silence her, and keep her from bringing her truth out. >> reporter: the sentence, like the shooting itself, a lightning rod for debate. even though she was the one who

was shot, to a lot of people, it seemed like megan was the one on trial. >> megan thee stallion was not on trial, yet we saw culturally, she was. >> reporter: this case becoming a symbol of hower on society treats women, particularly black women, and abuse survivors. >> you know, as a black woman, we've often tied to violence. when we speak up about things, people don't believe us. >> reporter: raising the question if a massively popular three-time grammy award winner is not believed, who is? >> there's a way that megan was never seen as vulnerable. and some of this is due to her being a black woman, some of this is due to her being this tall, voluptuous woman. some of this is due to her persona as meg thee stallion, tina snow, this public and dynamic sexual appetite in her performance. and all of that combined to make her someone who was easily vilified and certainly not vulnerable. >> reporter: the ordeal began in

july 2020 when megan was partying at kylie jenner's house with friends shown here in instagram live. also at the party, rapper tory lanez. megan, tory, kelsey harris reported they left the party together. lanez texted megan he'd gotten too drunk. while they were in the car, an argument broke out. >> i get out of the car, and it's like, everything happens so fast. >> reporter: here's what she told cbs's gayle king what happened next. >> all i hear is this man screaming. he said [ bleep ]. he started shooting. and i'm just like, oh my god. if i take the wrong step, i don't know, is he going to shoot something that's super important? i don't know if he could shoot me and kill me? >> were you afraid for your life at that time? >> i was really scared because i had never been shot at before. >> reporter: five shots rang out. this tmz video shows the aftermath.

megan struggling to walk, leaving a trail of bloody footprints. when police arrived on the scene, megan did not tell them she had been shot, saying instead that she stepped on glass. >> she was scared. it was the middle of the night. she had just gotten shot. it was friends of hers that were involved. she didn't tell the full story immediately, but she did shortly thereafter. >> tory lanez becomes identified on social media as the alleged shooter. and almost immediately after that, fans of tory lanez and some other folks who i don't think knew who tory lanez were but were in the business of vilifying megan thee stallion began to push back on that narrative. >> reporter: megan tweeted back at false statements and internet memes, "it might be funny to y'all on the internet and just another messy topic for you to talk about, but this is my real

life and i'm real life hurt and traumatized." lanez was charged in october 2020, and he stood trial in december last year. >> how feeling, megan? >> great. >> reporter: after years of speculation and rumors, the trial lasted only 11 days. there were no cameras ins the courtroom, but i was there when megan took the stand, when her voice cracked and she said, "i wish you would have just shot and killed me if i knew i was going to have to go through this tort torture. did has messed up my whole life. i don't even want to ob this earth no more." lanez was found guilty on three felony counts, including assault, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. since the trial, megan thee stallion has begun to re-enter the spotlight, giving a glimpse into her life on social media. from workouts to cooking videos. >> you know, she just now is

slowly starting to find herself back on social media. and she's just now, you know, doing shows again. she performed at the essence festival this summer, which was colos colossal. she was met with a lovely audience. because it was a safe space for her po sglrm. >> reporter: she graced the cover of "elle" writing in an essay, "i don't want to call myself a victim. as i r on the past three years, i view myself as a survivor. not only did i survive being shot by someone, i overcame the public humiliation of having my name and reputation dragged through the mud." >> she has not let this stop her. in fact, i think it's made her become much more of an activist than she probably planned on becoming as a rap star. >> reporter: lanez in an orange jumpsuit looked at his family and briefly smiled as he was escorted out of the courtroom today. his lawyers vowing to appeal. >> i think if there's a deeper meaning from the sentencing,

it's that black women are being heard and listened to, and maybe, just maybe, there's about to be a turning of the corner. maybe. >> our thanks to zohreen. for more, check out our full episode of "impact by nightline: megan thee stallion and the trial of tory lanez." up next, the alabama dock brawl going viral. so what's driving the debate behind all those views? i'm jayson. i'm living with hiv and i'm on cabenuva. it helps keep me undetectable. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva is two injections, given by my healthcare provider, every other month. it's really nice not to have to rush home and take a daily hiv pill. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or if you taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression.

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♪ >> stephanie: welcome back.

what happened this weekend on a dock in montgomery, alabama, continues to dominate the online discussion. it's also prompted a police investigation. here's abc's dimarco morgan making his "nightline" debut. >> reporter: chaos unfolding in a shocking bare-knuckled brawl over the weekend. a massive fistfight breaking out saturday night at an alabama riverfront park. >> something brought on by reckless individuals who did not use judgment and causing an event that certainly was avoidable. >> reporter: tonight, montgomery police issuing arrest warrants for three men and are seeking a fourth for questioning. >> we will be aggressive, and we will not allow this type of behavior in our city. >> reporter: authorities were able to comb through multiple videos like this one that quickly went viral. >> a confrontation with the owner of the boat -- >> reporter: showing a group of

white boaters hitting then brawling with a loan black captain on the dock. >> the owners of the boat confronted him in a hostile manner, there were words exchanged, then it turned into the encounter you've all seen. >> reporter: some black eyewitnesses who were watching decided to jump in. and help the cocaptain. >> when the first punches were thrown, we all -- you just felt so helpless for that man. like, there's five or six of them on him. you're like, oh my gosh. >> reporter: videos of the brawl spread quickly across social media. over the weekend racking up tens of millions of views and debate. >> we have seen countless videos over the years of seeing black people being pummeled by a group of white men. sometimes they're in badges, sometimes they are not. here was a case where black people were able to intervene and stop what may have been something way more nefarious

happening. >> reporter: the video starts with riverboat cocaptain damian pickett on the dock starting to untie a black pontoon boat authorities say were blocking the riverboat's designated spot. >> the cocaptain was doing his job, trying to move the boat to just enough where the cruise ship can park safely. >> reporter: some of the boaters appear to have words with pickett. quickly escalating as fists fly between one of the boaters and pickett and other members of their group jump in. bystanders, including a teen being called black aquaman on social media, jumping into the water to help out. as those on board the now-docked riverboat run over and begin fighting with the pontoon boaters. then more brawls break out among bystanders and passengers on the dock. >> the prosecutors are going to have to literally take all the videotape that's been provided and really determine, individual by individual, who did what and

what precipitated that individual's conduct. >> reporter: eyewitnesses say what the videos don't show are the moments leading up to the melee when the riverboat's captain gave the pontoon boaters a warning. >> the captain came over the intercom and was saying, "black pontoon boat, move your boat, move the boat or we will set it adrift." then the captain announced on the intercom that he would call the police. they shrugged their shoulders. they wouldn't do it. >> reporter: for now, confront police issuing arrest warrants for three of the white boater, 48-year-old richard roberts, 23-year-old alan todd, 25-year-old zachary shipman for misdemeanor assault. >> in the state of alabama, this third degree assault is, in fact, a smooern charge. it does carry jail time up to one year. i can only surmise it's being charged as a misdemeanor because of the nature of the injuries. >> reporter: they also want to interview a fourth man, 42-year-old reggie gray, seen in this video swinging a folding chair.

>> probably 60 people fighting. that's a massive amount of people fighting. i don't know if you know who's fighting who, at that point. >> reporter: the very site of the attack has a racially charged past. >> that particular dock was the site of slave trades. montgomery, alabama, has a very rich and negative history as it relates to the treatment of african americans. the brutality that african americans have suffered in montgomery, alabama. >> reporter: police say while there isn't enough evidence for hate crime charges at this point, the case is ongoing. >> hate crimes are very difficult, however, to prove by prosecutors. they have to prove that the act of violence was animated or was motivated by racial animus. and that can be a very difficult burden to establish. >> we're going to go where this investigation leads us. no one's off limits. >> our thanks to demarco.

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lift up ♪ ♪ cha-cha real smooth turn it out ♪ >> willie perry jr., a chicago disk jockey known as dj casper, the creator of the cha cha slide, has died following a years-long cancer battle. in his final television interview with samantha chapman from our chicago affiliate wls in may, perry explained what began as an aerobic exercise for a fitness club became an international line dancing sensation. >> i have one of the biggest songs that's played in all stadiums. hockey, basketball, football, baseball. they played it at the olympics. it was just something, you know, that everybody could do. ♪ all the way to the floor ♪ ♪ how low can you go ♪ >> harry said he hoped the cha cha slide would always serve as a reminder of the power of unity, community, and positivity. he was 58.