Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Sean “Diddy” Combs are accused of raping a 13-year-old girl at an after-party following the 2000 Video Music Awards, according to an amended civil complaint filed Sunday.
“Another celebrity stood by and watched as Combs and Carter took turns assaulting the minor,” the lawsuit said, without naming the celebrity.
In a statement sent to the Roc Nation X account on Sunday, Jay-Z denied the allegations against him in the case.
Jay-Z was added to the lawsuit, originally filed in October as one of several anonymous complaints by Texas attorney Tony Buzbee.
HOUSTON, TX – FEBRUARY 16: (L-R) Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jay-Z attend The Two Kings Dinner presented by Sprite at RDG + Bar Annie on February 16, 2013 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
Johnny Nunez/WireImage
Many of the lawsuits did not survive because the plaintiffs refused to be named; in this case, however, the judge said the then-13-year-old showed sufficient cause to continue anonymously.
Carter was identified in the original complaint as Celebrity A.
The plaintiff alleged that she was noticed by a limo driver who invited her to the after-party, where Combs and Carter raped her.
In his statement, Jay-Z claimed that Buzbee had sent his lawyer a “request letter” prior to the filing.
“My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a ‘lawyer’ named Tony Buzbee. What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle,” Jay wrote -Z.
“No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public way. So no, I will not give you A RED EAR!!” he added in the statement.
In his response, the music mogul questioned why the case was a civil trial rather than a criminal one.
“Whoever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away wouldn’t you agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that was the case,” Jay-Z wrote.
Jay-Z went on to address the fact that his family, including his children, may be affected by the filing.
“My only heartache is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at an age where her friends will surely see the press and question the nature of these allegations and explain the cruelty and greed of people,” he wrote.
In a statement to ABC News, Buzbee said: “The work speaks for itself. This is a very serious matter that will be heard in court.”
Buzbee also took to his personal Instagram account on Sunday and said he would not be “bullied or intimidated,” without mentioning the specific lawsuit, Jay-Z or Diddy by name.
“People will see through this effort to discredit me and my clients and the truth will be revealed,” Buzbee wrote. “I also won’t allow anyone to scare my clients into silence. Sunlight is the best disinfectant and I’m pretty sure the sun will come,” he added.
Combs’ legal representatives responded to the filing in a statement to ABC News on Sunday, saying, “This amended complaint and the recent racketeering lawsuit against Mr. Buzbee expose his barrage of lawsuits against Mr. Combs for what they are: shameless publicity stunts designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.”
“As his legal team has said before, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the legal process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or acted sexually with anyone – male or female, adult or a minor,” Combs’ representatives said in the statement.
