Jay-Z’s lawyer has reaffirmed his client’s innocence after he was added to a 2000 rape complaint originally filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs.
After strongly denying allegations of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 with Diddy in a statement last week, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter, stepped up to the plate by holding a press conference at the headquarters of his label Roc Nation in New York (United States), on December 16. “Mr. Carter had nothing to do with the matter involving Mr. Combs, nor with Mr. Combs himself. Their relationship has always been strictly professional,” the rapper’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, told reporters.
“As in all professions, people sometimes cross paths. During musical ceremonies, they support each other. It’s the same at events like the NBA All-Star Game. It’s part of how any industry works. But there is no closer connection between them, contrary to what some insinuate. These are fictions,” he added.
In December, the hip-hop moguls were accused in a lawsuit of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl at a party after the MTV Music Awards in 2000. Initially, only Diddy’s figure appeared in the complaint filed in October, but Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee filed an amended version on December 8, to include Jay-Z among the defendants.
An incoherent story
However, the credibility of the alleged victim has been undermined. In an interview with NBC Newsshe admitted to having made “a few errors” in her account of the event which occurred almost two decades earlier. She had notably claimed that her father had come to pick her up after the alleged rape, which he did not confirm, according to the media. Furthermore, she claimed to have spoken with a celebrity during the evening, but the latter assured that she was not in New York at the time.
Faced with these contradictions, Alex Spiro presented slides detailing the inconsistencies in the accuser’s story. “It is obvious to everyone that Mr. Carter did nothing. Certainly, Jay-Z did not rape a child. What I want today is to expose the facts so that you can judge for yourselves and see the truth in the face,” he said.
The attorney also responded to statements from Tony Buzbee, who told NBC News he would continue to investigate the accusations. “You can see that this case is starting to crumble and that the truth is emerging,” concluded Alex Spiro, denouncing this “unjustified attack on a man of Mr. Carter’s integrity.” Jay-Z asked the court to dismiss the civil complaint, arguing a “lack of material jurisdiction” and the absence of legal basis in the plaintiff’s action.
For his part, Diddy, arrested last September on serious charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and other alleged crimes, faces hundreds of complaints. Although he continues to strongly deny all accusations, he remains in pre-trial detention until his trial, scheduled for May 2025. Beyoncé’s husband’s defense insisted: “[Jay-Z] knows nothing about the accusations or allegations regarding [Diddy]. He has absolutely no connection with this affair and there is nothing more to say.”
