Jay-Z, the star rapper and entrepreneur whose real name is Shawn Carter, was accused in a lawsuit Sunday of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 allegedly along with Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The anonymous accuser, identified only as “Jane Doe,” said the assault happened after she was driven to an MTV Video Music Awards after-party.
The federal lawsuit was originally filed in October in the Southern District of New York, listing Combs as a defendant. It was refiled on Sunday to include Carter.
Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee, who filed the suit, did not comment on the issue.
Jay Z called the allegations “idiotic” in a lengthy statement Sunday evening and alleged that Buzbee was engaging in unprofessional behavior.
He said “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?” Carter said in a statement to NBC News. “These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment on whether the office is pursuing the case when shown NBC News’ report on the lawsuit.
Photos and media publications have surfaced on the internet showing Jay Z to be at a separate location from the reported venue of the crime. It is however certain the authenticity of these photos.
Jay-Z’s swift response came off as shocking to many, as one would expect him to go through the formal route of replying with legal attorneys and more. However, the rapper took to the X account of Roc Nation and immediately doused the allegations with confidence. He also advised that the case be tried as a criminal case rather than a civil one.
Buzbee has filed several lawsuits in recent months — all have withheld their complainants’ names — accusing Combs of assault and rape. This is the first suit in which he has named another high-profile defendant.
Federal prosecutors in New York criminally charged Combs in September with racketeering, sex trafficking, and other offenses, and he is behind bars at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center after he was denied bail for a third time last month. His trial is scheduled for May 5.
Prosecutors said in a court hearing last month that they are in the process of potentially bringing more charges against Combs in a superseding indictment.
Before the lawsuit was refiled 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, which NBC News has seen, Carter filed his own lawsuit against the accuser’s attorneys, Buzbee wrote in the suit.
“You have made a terrible error in judgement thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same,” Carter added in his statement Sunday. “I’m not from your world. I’m a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. We don’t play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children.”
The lawsuit claims that in 2000 when Doe was 13, Combs and Carter raped her at a house party after the MTV Video Music Awards in New York.
The lawsuit says a friend dropped her off at the VMAs at Radio City Music Hall. She did not have a ticket, and she approached various limousine drivers to try to gain access to the show or an after-party.
One driver, the lawsuit says, told her that he worked for Combs and that she “fit what Diddy was looking for.” He invited her to a party after the show and told her to return to his car later in the evening after he transported Carter and Combs, the suit says.
Later, the driver picked her up, the suit says, and after 20 minutes they arrived at a white house with a U-shaped driveway, the suit says. She had to sign a document she believed was a nondisclosure agreement on arrival — and did not receive a copy — to enter the party, which the suit says was filled with celebrities and people doing marijuana and cocaine.
It appears that there is more to the case than is being let out to the public considering the approach Bubzee took in first reaching out to Jay Z and Jay Z’s manner of response. It looks like a lot of celebrities are going to get charges related to the Diddy case as he has built legacies with a lot of other rich and powerful people in entertainment.
Jay-z is the first to be mentioned I the case, but it looks like more names will follow as there are reports of Diddy co-operating with officials in a bid to reduce his sentence. Whether the case would be filed again as a criminal one is yet to be known, and Jay-Z’s manner of response shows that he is prepared for the fight coming.
The case is still developing and more is expected to unfold in the coming days.
