Jay-Z Pounces on Rape Accuser Saying Her Story has ‘Inconsistencies’
A woman who accused rappers Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her when she was underage admitted to NBC News that her story contained inconsistencies, the outlet reported Friday.
“I have made some mistakes,” the anonymous woman told NBC, but added that she stands by her allegation that she was raped by the two men at an after-party for the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. She was 13 years old at the time.
According to NBC, the woman’s story has at least three gray areas.
Among the inconsistencies: The woman said her father picked her up after the alleged sexual assault, but he says he doesn’t recall that. The woman also claims she spoke to a celebrity at the after-party where she said she was sexually assaulted, but that celebrity said he was not in New York at that time. And images from that evening show Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, and Sean “Diddy” Combs at a different location than the one the woman described, although their whereabouts for the entire evening are unclear.
NBC News
The woman’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, told NBC he’s continuing to look into the matter.
“Jane Doe’s case was referred to our firm by another, who vetted it prior to sending it to us,” he said. “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,” he added, “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.”
Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, denied the allegations in a statement to the Daily Beast that referenced NBC’s Friday story.
“Today’s investigative report proves this ‘attorney’ Buzbee filed a false complaint against me in the pursuit of money and fame,” Carter said. “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.”
Carter’s attorney, Alex Spiro, had a similar reaction.
“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,” Spiro told the Daily Beast in a statement. “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.”
Combs was indicted in September for charges including sex trafficking and racketeering. A lawsuit against Combs from October was refiled on Sunday, naming Carter as a co-defendant.
