Rapper Offset rises from wheelchair for first performance, speaks out after shooting
Rapper Offset rises from wheelchair for first performance, speaks out after shooting
Kathleen PerriconeMon, April 13, 2026 at 3:48 AM UTC
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Offset performs in 2025 in MilwaukeeCredit: Joshua Applegate/Getty
Offset is on the road to recovery — and back on the road.
The rapper performed at Rowfest at the University of Arkansas on Saturday, just five days after being shot in Hollywood, Fla., outside of the Hard Rock Casino.
In a video Offset posted on Instagram, he appears onstage in a wheelchair and then rises to his feet as the crowd erupts in cheers. Wearing a skeleton face mask, the rapper seemingly stood on his own while performing, although a throne-like chair was placed onstage in the event he needed to rest. His setlist included Migos’ 2016 hit single, "Bad and Boujee.”
The rapper, who found fame as one-third of the Grammy-nominated Migos, released his third solo album, Kiari, in 2025.
The day before Rowfest, Offset broke his silence on the April 6 shooting, which went down at the hotel’s valet stand.
"Thank you to everyone who’s checked in on me and showed me love! I’m good….but I’m planning to be better! I’m focused on my family, my recovery, and getting back to the music…realizing that life is made up of quiet wins and loud losses…," he wrote on Instagram. "Life’s a gamble and I’m still playing to win.”
Lil Tjay (real name: Tione Jayden Merritt) was arrested and "charged in connection with the incident,” a spokesperson for the Seminole Police Department told Entertainment Weekly. Merritt was charged with disorderly conduct and booked into the Broward County Jail.
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The rapper's lawyer, Dawn M. Florio, released a statement via Instagram on April 6 (which has since been removed) claiming that Merritt was not connected to the shooting itself.
"Lil Tjay has not been shot, nor has Lil Tjay been charged with any shooting. Any reporting to the contrary is false," she wrote.
A second person was detained at the scene, but not charged, added the spokesperson. Authorities are still investigating the incident.
Offset is also dealing with a legal issue of his own.
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Days before the shooting, the rapper was sued by a different casino, MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit, for an unpaid $100,000 casino debt. According to the lawsuit, Offset opened the credit line in March 2024 and when MotorCity later attempted to withdraw funds from his account, it reportedly failed due to insufficient funds.
“We are working toward a resolution,” Offset's spokesperson told Complex.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
