In a new civil lawsuit, hip-hop singer Jay-Z has been accused of raping a 13-year-old girl with disgraced music producer Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, two decades ago. He has vehemently denied the allegation.
The federal lawsuit was originally filed in October in the Southern District of New York, listing Combs as a defendant. It was refiled Sunday to include Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter. The alleged victim, identified anonymously as “Jane Doe”, said the assault happened in 2000 after she was driven to an MTV Video Music Awards after-party, where she alleges Combs and Carter raped her.
Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee filed the civil lawsuit, along with several others in recent months that have accused Combs of assault and rape. This is the first suit in which another high-profile defendant has been named.
The lawsuit says a friend dropped “Jane Doe” off at the VMAs at Radio City Music Hall without at ticket, where she approached various limousine drivers, trying to gain access to the show or an after-party. One driver, according to the lawsuit, told Doe that he worked for Combs and that she “fit what Diddy was looking for”. The driver later drove Doe to a party after the show, where she signed a document on arrival that she believed was a nondisclosure agreement to enter the party. She did not receive a copy of the document.
The lawsuit says the party was filled with celebrities and people doing marijuana and cocaine. Doe was offered a drink that made her feel “woozy, lightheaded and felt [like] she needed to lie down”, the suit says.
As a result, “Jane Doe” went to a room to rest, where the suit says Combs and Carter and an unnamed female celebrity entered. She alleges Carter removed her clothes, held her down and raped her, while Combs and the unnamed female celebrity watched. Does says Combs also raped her as Carter and the woman looked on.
The suit also says “Jane Doe” resisted being forced to perform oral sex on Combs by hitting him in the neck.
The lawsuit is filed under New York’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act.
Before the lawsuit was refiled on Sunday, “Carter received a letter from Plaintiff’s counsel requesting a mediation to resolve this matter,” Buzbee wrote in the suit.
In response to the letter, Carter filed his own lawsuit against the accuser’s attorneys, Buzbee said in the suit.
On Sunday, Carter issued a lengthy statement, where he called the allegations “idiotic”.
“My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a ‘lawyer’ named Tony Buzbee. What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle,” Carter said.
“No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY.”
“These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”
Carter added: “My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people.”
1800RESPECT is available for free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to support people impacted by domestic, family or sexual violence. Call 1800 737 732.