Rappers Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs have been accused in a civil suit of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000.
The lawsuit, which was originally filed in October and was refiled Sunday in New York to add Jay-Z to the list of defendants, alleges that the victim, identified only as a woman who now lives in Alabama, was raped by the two men at an Afterparty of the Video Music Awards.
Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, referred to the allegations in a statement as an “attempted blackmail.” Combs’ attorney denied the allegations.
The lawsuit alleges that the girl went to the VMAs in New York City without a ticket in hopes of getting in, but was instead invited to an after party by a limo driver who claimed to work for in Combs. The limo driver allegedly drove her to the party, where she was told to sign what she believes was a confidentiality agreement, according to the lawsuit.
While inside, the lawsuit alleges, “after attempting to speak with numerous celebrities, Plaintiff accepted a drink from one of the waitresses circulating through the crowd.” The suit claims she began to feel “pounded and dizzy” after drinking “some of the drink” and went looking for a place to lie down. She went into a room that had a bed, and shortly after she was lying down, Combs, Carter and a famous woman the alleged victim recognized entered the room, according to the lawsuit.
The suit then alleges that Carter held her down and raped her while Combs and the famous woman looked on. Combs then also raped her while Carter and the woman looked on, the lawsuit alleges. Combs tried to force the girl to give him oral sex, but she managed to punch him, grab his clothes, wrap him and run away, according to the lawsuit.
“Although there were still other guests at the party, no one seemed to notice the plaintiff’s distress or attempt to help her,” the suit alleges.
According to the lawsuit, after leaving the house and putting her clothes back on, the girl managed to run back to a gas station she had seen on the way to the party, where a clerk “noticed her distress and allowed her to use the phone.” .” He then allegedly used the phone to call his father and have him pick him up.
The woman is seeking unspecified damages.
In response to the filing, Carter said in a statement: “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 public scrutiny would do I want to settle, no sir, it had the opposite effect Penny!!”
“Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have made against me that, were it not for the seriousness surrounding harm to children, would be laughable,” the statement added.
Teny Geragos, an attorney representing Combs, said in a statement, “This amended complaint and recent racketeering lawsuit against Mr. Buzbee exposes his barrage of lawsuits against Mr. Combs for what they are: blatant publicity stunts , designed to extract payments from celebrities, who fear that lies will be spread about them, just as they have been spread about Mr. Combs his legal team, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the court process: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or treated anyone, male or female minor”.
Buzbee was sued last month by an unnamed male celebrity, who alleges the lawyer tried to extort payments by threatening to press charges of sexual assault, which the celebrity denies. Buzbee, in turn, denies the racketeering allegations.
Buzbee did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News. He posted on Instagram Sunday night that there has been a “coordinated and aggressive effort” against him that has included “filing frivolous cases against me and my law firm, defaming me with outrageous claims to anyone who will listen and have mysterious people follow me and my family.”
“People will see through this effort to discredit me and my clients and the truth will come out. Nor will I allow anyone to scare my clients into silence,” Buzbee wrote.
Combs is currently in custody in New York awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His attempts to get bail have been denied several times.
Combs was arrested in September and charged with sex trafficking, extortion conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution, with prosecutors accusing him of using his business empire to engage in repeated abuses over the years. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.