Megan Thee Stallion Opens Up About Being Shot in Powerful New York Times Op-Ed

thoughts yet on being a victim of gun violence, calling Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron out on Saturday Night Live, and being compared to other Black women artists.

"I’m not afraid of criticism," she writes. "We live in a country where we have the freedom to criticize elected officials. And it’s ridiculous that some people think the simple phrase 'Protect Black women' is controversial. We deserve to be protected as human beings. And we are entitled to our anger about a laundry list of mistreatment and neglect that we suffer."

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Megan also sheds light on the role Black women are expected to play in the 2020 presidential election, the escalating maternal mortality rates for Black women, and accusations that she's "dressing and performing for the male gaze." She invokes the names of Serena Williams, Rosa Parks, NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, Sen. Kamala Harris, and others in hopes of "an era where Black women in 2020 are no longer 'making history' for achieving things that should have been accomplished decades ago."

One name that isn't mentioned is Tory Lanez, the rapper Megan says shot her in the foot at a July 12 pool party. (Lanez has been charged with two felony counts and faces a maximum prison sentence of 22 years and eight months if convicted.) However, Megan does open up about the impact the incident has had on her life. "I was recently the victim of an act of violence by a man. After a party, I was shot twice as I walked away from him," she writes, adding, "We were not in a relationship. Truthfully, I was shocked that I ended up in that place."

Megan explains that she remained quiet about the shooting to protect her inner circle. "The way people have publicly questioned and debated whether I played a role in my own violent assault proves that my fears about discussing what happened were, unfortunately, warranted," she continues. "After a lot of self-reflection on that incident, I’ve realized that violence against women is not always connected to being in a relationship. Instead, it happens because too many men treat all women as objects, which helps them to justify inflicting abuse against us when we choose to exercise our own free will."

She also speaks out against being obsessively compared to her "WAP" collaborator Cardi B and "Hot Girl Summer" partner Nicki Minaj. Megan explains that "the male-dominated ecosystem can handle only one female rapper at a time." While she recognizes both Minaj and Cardi as "incredible entertainers and strong women," Megan notes, "I'm not the 'the new' anyone; we are all unique in our own ways."

Last month, Megan spoke to ELLE.com about her passion for advocacy following 2019's Hot Girl Summer takeover. “With all the crazy things that have happened this year, it’s just sparked the fire in me to be as active as I can in both my community and around the world,” she explained. “We’re all in this together and I just wanna make sure I’m using my platform for positivity.”