A lawyer for rapper Jay-Z has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit accusing him, along with Sean “Diddy” Combs, of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000, after inconsistencies emerged in her allegation.
An Alabama woman, named in the legal action by the pseudonym Jane Doe, has accused the musicians of drugging and attacking her at a house party following the MTV Video Music Awards.
She claimed she spoke with one celebrity at the party, though his representative says he was on tour at the time. Her father told NBC News he cannot recall driving five hours to pick her up after the alleged assault, as she claims.
In an interview with NBC, the woman acknowledged making “some mistakes” in her accusation, but said she stood by her claim.
Rape support providers say it is common for survivors of such assaults to misremember some details, especially if they have been allegedly drugged.
The litigation is part of dozens of sexual assault lawsuits filed against Combs, who is in custody awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges in New York. He was denied bail a third time last month. Combs denies all the allegations.
Jay-Z’s attorney, Alex Spiro, asked the court to dismiss Jane Doe’s case, saying in a statement to the BBC: “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.”
The rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, issued a statement to the BBC saying the lawyer, Tony Buzbee, had filed the legal action “in pursuit of money and fame”.
“This incident didn’t happen and yet he filed it in court and doubled down in the press,” his statement said.
“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 BBC is contacting Combs’s lawyer for comment. (BBC)
