Jay-Z denies raping 13-year-old girl with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in 2000
Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z, has been accused in a new lawsuit filed on December 8th of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 along with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
The accuser, who remains anonymous and is identified only as ‘Jane Doe’, claims that the alleged assault occurred after she was driven to an after-party for the MTV Video Music Awards. The federal lawsuit was originally filed in the Southern District of New York in October, listing Combs as the defendant, but was refiled on December 8th to include Carter.
Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee filed the suit, which comes amid several others that he’s filed in recent months accusing Combs of assault and rape. All have withheld the complainants’ names, and this is the first to name another prominent figure.
The lawsuit claims that in 2000 when Doe was 13, Combs and Carter raped her at a house party following the MTV Video Music Awards in New York. It alleges that a friend of the plaintiff’s dropped her off at the ceremony at Radio City Music Hall. She didn’t have a ticket and approached various limousine drives to try to get access to it or an after-party.
One driver allegedly told her he worked for Combs and that she “fit what Diddy was looking for.” He then allegedly invited her to an after-party and told her to return to his car later in the evening after he’d taken Carter and Combs back.
The driver picked her up later, and after 20 minutes, they allegedly arrived at a white house with a U-shaped driveway. She claims to have had to sign a document which she believes to be a nondisclosure agreement when she got there – she claims she did not receive a copy of it – and says the party was filled with celebrities and people doing cocaine and marijuana.
The complainant was then allegedly offered a drink that made her become “woozy, lightheaded and felt [like] she needed to lie down,” and she went into a room to rest. Allegedly, shortly after, Combs and Carter entered the room, with the former saying, “You are ready to party!”
She alleges that Carter then removed her clothes, held her down and raped her while Combs and an unnamed female celebrity watched. She says Combs also raped her, as Carter and the woman observed. The suit claims she resisted being forced to perform oral sex on Combs by hitting him in the neck, which made him stop.
After the alleged assault, the suit claims that she “grabbed her clothes” and left. She went to a petrol station and called her father. The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages.
Jay-Z responds to “heinous” allegations
In a statement, Carter defiantly denied the claims, responding: “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.
“You have made a terrible error in judgement thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same,” he continued. “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.”
“My only heartbreak is for my family,” the rapper added, “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. I mourn yet another loss of innocence.”
In a separate statement, legal representatives for Combs dismissed the suits as publicity stunts and maintained the “truth” about their client will “prevail” in court, claiming that he has “never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor”.
Combs was charged by prosecutors in September with racketeering, sex trafficking and other offences and remains incarcerated at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center after he was denied bail for the third time in November. His trial is scheduled for May 5th.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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