Megan Thee Stallion, 25, is unstoppable. The Houston native made her headline debut on Saturday Night Live on Saturday, Oct. 3 and kicked off the season with a bang! She delivered a hypnotic performance of “Savage,” taking the stage over with a black-and-white backdrop that matched her outfit. “I’m a savage (yeah)/Classy, bougie, ratchet (yeah)/Sassy, moody, nasty (hey, hey, yeah)/Acting stupid, what’s happening? B— (whoa, whoa),” she rapped, as Twitter sang (and TikTok’d) right along.
Good use of your platform @theestallion on @nbcsnl #ProtectBlackWomen #savage pic.twitter.com/RzX9yQ6dka
— mizzkbofficial (@mizzkb100) October 4, 2020
The star took the opportunity to deliver a powerful tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement, keeping the momentum from her recent Tidal virtual show. “We need to protect our Black women. And love our Black women. Because at the end of the day we need our Black women,” she declared, also standing up for Black men. “At the end of the day, we’re tired of seeing hashtags about Black men,” she said as a screen read “Protect Black Women” appeared behind her. Notably, Megan performed on SNL as a surprise guest with Chance The Rapper on “Handsome” on Oct. 27, 2019.
She returned to the stage with a second performance of “Don’t Stop” with collaborator Young Thug! Megan looked incredible as she danced and twerked in a red latex bodysuit while rapping the racy lyrics. “Don’t stop, pop that cat/Mmm, mmm, just like that,” she rapped on the track, declaring her “body so out of this world” that she’s changing her name to “Astrogirl.”
The performance comes just months after Megan was shot in both feet on July 12. The same night, Canadian rapper Tory Lanez, 28, was arrested for possession of a concealed gun. Megan took to social media several times to address what happened, describing it as the “worst experience of my life.” She also said, “I had to get surgery to get the [bullets] taken out, to get the bullets taken out. And it was super scary.” Megan later alleged that Tory was the one who shot her.
“Yes, Tory shot me. You shot me. and you got your publicist and your people going to these blogs, lying and s—…stop lying,” she said via Instagram live, directly addressing him. “Even though he shot me, I tried to spare him [at the time]…I go through so much s— on a daily basis anyways,” she explained. Tory later denied the accusations on his song “Money Over Fallouts.” On the track, he raps, “Megan, people tryin’ to frame me for a shooting/How the f– you get shot in yo foot it don’t hit no bones or tendons? How the f— is your team tryna’ pay me in millions?”
Megan Thee Stallion confirms that Tory Lanez shot her while she was trying to walk away after an argument. He’s done. pic.twitter.com/sqpTAY2pmQ
— Ronald Isley (@yoyotrav) August 21, 2020
Despite the scary incident, Megan has gone on to have her most successful year yet: her song “Savage” became a TikTok sensation just weeks into the COVID-19 quarantine, even spawning a Beyoncé remix. Hot off performing on the virtual BET Awards show, Megan collaborated with Cardi B on the song of the summer, “WAP.” The racy track went right to the top of the Billboard charts, and featured a super sexy music video that featured cameos from Kylie Jenner and Normani. As if that wasn’t all impressive enough, Megan also scored a coveted spot on Time’s 100 Most Influential People list! “STILL I RISE…YOUNG BLACK WOMAN FROM HOUSTON TEXAS ON THE COVER OF TIME MAGAZINE AS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD,” she captioned an Instagram post of the cover, rocking a stunning mustard yellow gown.