Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z has filed a defamation lawsuit against a woman who previously accused him and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her when she was 13. The lawsuit, submitted on Monday, asserts that the woman made false and defamatory claims to seek financial gain.
In the legal action, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, alleges that the woman and her attorneys, Tony Buzbee and David Fortney, acted out of greed and disregarded the truth and basic human decency. The lawsuit was filed in the federal court for the Southern District of Alabama, where the woman, referred to as “Jane Doe,” resides. Jay-Z claims that the accusations have harmed his personal and professional reputation.
The woman had previously withdrawn her lawsuit last month, which prevents her from refiling it. She initially added Jay-Z as a defendant in December, following her original complaint against Combs filed in federal court in New York City.
In her lawsuit, she claimed that both men raped her in 2000 at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party in Manhattan. She stated that a limousine driver for Combs offered her a ride to the party at a private residence.
Jay-Z’s lawsuit highlights inconsistencies in the woman’s narrative, as reported by NBC News. For instance, she mentioned fleeing the location after the alleged assault and calling her father from a gas station for a ride home. However, her father stated he did not recall making the long drive from Rochester, New York, to pick her up.
Additionally, the woman claimed to have spoken with musician Benji Madden at the party, yet a representative for Madden confirmed that neither he nor his brother Joel attended the 2000 VMAs as they were touring in the Midwest at the time. The Madden brothers have not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Images from that night show Jay-Z and Combs in a different location than the one described by the woman, though their exact whereabouts throughout the evening remain unclear.
Buzbee has previously filed over 30 lawsuits against Combs, alleging sexual abuse. Combs is currently in a Brooklyn jail awaiting a trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Following the withdrawal of the woman’s lawsuit, Combs’ attorneys claimed vindication, stating, “Sean Combs has never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor.” They emphasized that no number of lawsuits or sensational allegations would alter that reality.
When confronted with the inconsistencies in December, the woman acknowledged having made “some mistakes” in her recollections but maintained her overall allegations.
Jay-Z has consistently denied the claims, calling the accusations a “fictional tale” that is serious in nature. He expressed that the trauma experienced by his family cannot be overlooked.
His lawsuit claims that the defendants’ actions were malicious and intended to harm him. It also alleges that the woman admitted he did not assault her and that Buzbee encouraged her to maintain the false narrative for financial gain.
The lawsuit further contends that a day before the woman withdrew her suit, Fortney advised her to drop the case against Jay-Z, citing threats against her life, which Jay-Z’s attorneys contest.
Jay-Z is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages. Attempts to contact the woman for comment were unsuccessful, and Buzbee and Fortney did not immediately respond to requests regarding Jay-Z’s allegations.
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