Jay-Z’s attorney is looking to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the rapper of raping a 13-year-old girl after the Jane Doe acknowledged inconsistencies in her allegations in a new NBC News report.
In the lawsuit, originally filed in October, a woman identified only as “Jane Doe” sued Sean “Diddy” Combs for allegedly raping her at a party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. The complaint was amended on Sunday to include the allegation that Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, was also present and participated in the assault.
In a new interview with NBC News, the Alabama woman, who is now 38, recounted what she called a “catastrophic event” 24 years ago, alleging that she was given a spiked drink and subsequently assaulted. However, she and her lawyers also recognized some inconsistencies in her recollection of that night in response to the outlet’s questions. “I have made some mistakes,” she said.
The inconsistencies include the woman claiming her father picked her up after the alleged sexual assault, but he says he doesn’t remember doing that. The Jane Doe also says she spoke to another celebrity at the afterparty where the sexual assault took place, but that celebrity (Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden) says he was not in New York that night as the band was on tour in the midwest during this time period. Images from that evening in 2000 also show Carter and Combs at a different location than the women described, but their location for the entire night is unclear.
Carter wrote in a statement in response to the NBC News report, “Today’s investigative report proves this ‘attorney’ [Tony] Buzbee filed a false complaint against me in the pursuit of money and fame. This incident didn’t happen and yet he filed it in court and doubled down in the press. True Justice is coming. We fight FROM victory, not FOR victory. This was over before it began. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but, soon.”
The rapper’s attorney Alex Spiro added, “It is stunning that a lawyer would not only file such a serious complaint without proper vetting, but would make things worse by further peddling this false story in the press. We are asking the Court to dismiss this frivolous case today, and will take up the matter of additional discipline for Mr. Buzbee and all the lawyers that filed the complaint.”
In a filing on Monday, Spiro argued that the woman accusing Carter must reveal her identity or drop the lawsuit altogether, saying she has not provided substantial evidence to justify her anonymity, adding her “vague assertions of potential harm fall far short of the stringent requirements.”
Carter also previously shared that he had anonymously sued Buzbee, claiming that the lawyer was trying to blackmail him.
Buzbee shared in a statement with The Hollywood Reporter, “Jane Doe’s case was referred to our firm by another law firm, who vetted it prior to sending it to us. Our client remains fiercely adamant that what she has stated is true, to the best of her memory. We will continue to vet her claims and collect corroborating data to the extent it exists. Because we have interrogated her intensely, she has even agreed to submit to a polygraph. I’ve never had a client suggest that before. In any event, we always do our best to vet each claim made, just as we did in this case. This has been extremely distressing for her, to the point she has experienced seizures and had to seek medical treatment due to the stress.”
