Jay-Z issues scathing denial to allegations he sexually assaulted 13-year-old girl
Criminal defense attorney Lexie Rigden reacts to the musician's 'strong denial' of a 24-year-old lawsuit involving Sean 'Diddy' Combs and expresses concern over ongoing jury deliberations in the Daniel Penny trial.
Jay-Z's lawyer poked holes in his rape accuser's version of events as his legal team works to preserve evidence in the crumbling case.
The rapper requested the judge order attorney Tony Buzbee and the anonymous accuser "preserve all evidence relevant to this case" after multiple inconsistencies were revealed, according to a court filing obtained by Fox News Digital.
The woman, who accused Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs of raping her when she was 13-years-old, admitted she "made mistakes" in her legal complaint against the musicians in a new interview.
"The timeline, location, and occurrence of events alleged in Plaintiff’s complaint are rendered impossible by these admissions," Jay-Z's lawyer wrote.
Jay-Z's lawyer poked holes in the story of the woman accusing the rapper and Sean "Diddy" Combs of sexual assault. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)
"Taken together, the factual inconsistencies, timeline impossibilities, and the lack of corroborating evidence make Plaintiff’s allegations … wholly unreliable."
One glaring inconsistency mentioned by Jay-Z's team was the accuser's claim she was allegedly attacked at an afterparty hosted in a private residence.
"She references a house that supposedly fits the description of the location of the alleged assault, but no such house exists," the court documents read. "And Plaintiff’s allegations become even more dubious when considering the nightclub evidence."
Jay-Z's lawyers pointed out that Diddy was actually photographed at two separate afterparties at nightclubs following the 2000 VMAs. The "I'll Be Missing You" rapper was spotted at both Twirl and Lotus in New York City.
"Taken together, the factual inconsistencies, timeline impossibilities, and the lack of corroborating evidence make Plaintiff’s allegations … wholly unreliable," the rapper's lawyer wrote.
Diddy and then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez attend a VMA afterparty at Twirl in NYC on Sept. 7, 2000. Jennifer Lopez has not been implicated in any wrongdoing. (Henry McGee/MediaPunch)
Buzbee, who represents Jane Doe, admitted the case was vetted by a different firm and referred to the Buzbee Law Firm.
"Our client remains fiercely adamant that what she has stated is true, to the best of her memory," the attorney told NBC News in an email. "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, 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."
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Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jennifer Lopez were spotted at Lotus nightclub after the 2000s VMAs. Jennifer Lopez has not been implicated in any wrongdoing. (Coleman-Rayner)
Jay-Z's legal team also highlighted the accuser's story of how she left the party. In the lawsuit, obtained by Fox News Digital, the woman claimed she fled the party after the alleged rape and ran to a gas station.
"I was upset, and the person at the gas station could tell that I was obviously upset, and she let me use the phone. I called my dad because he was the only person I trust at that time. I told him I messed up, and I needed a ride home," she told NBC News. "We rode home in silence. He didn’t ask me what happened. He didn’t ask me what I did or where I was."
Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs have both been accused of raping a 13-year-old. Both have denied the allegations against them. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage for Bad Boy Entertainment)
However, her father doesn't recall making the over five-hour drive from Rochester to New York City.
"I feel like I would remember that, and I don’t," he told NBC. "I have a lot going on, but I mean, that’s something that would definitely stick in my mind."
Buzbee explained, "We agree he states he doesn’t remember. His daughter explains that he was in no state to remember during that point in time due to personal issues he was having then. We are talking about a time frame more than 20 years ago."
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The victim claimed in the lawsuit she "recognized many celebrities" upon arrival at the party and was required to sign a nondisclosure agreement. The now 38-year-old woman revealed who she allegedly spoke to in an interview conducted after the court filing.
"I’m talking to, like, Fred Durst, Benji Madden, about his tattoo, because, you know, about his tattoo that’s ‘The Last Supper,’ because I have a religious background, so it was just something to talk about," she told NBC.
Benji Madden (photographed circa 2000) performs on stage with his brother. Madden has not been implicated in any wrongdoing. (Getty Images)
However, Madden was not at the 2000 VMAs as he was on tour at the time with his band, Good Charlotte, and they had a show in Chicago. Representatives for the musician confirmed this detail to the outlet.
"Honestly, what is the clearest is what happened to me and [the] route that I took to what happened to me. Not all of the faces there are as clear," the accuser told NBC in a follow-up interview. "So I have made some mistakes. I may have made a mistake in identifying."
Fox News Digital has reached out to representatives for Madden and Durst.
Christina Aguilera and Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit perform at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Neither Aguilera nor Durst have been implicated in any wrongdoing. (Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)
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Jay-Z's lawyers also went after Buzbee in the filing, pointing out the Texas-based attorney's misconduct on several occasions, including during his time representing Los Angeles socialite Rebecca Grossman. Buzbee's behavior while representing the criminal defendant was reprimanded by the presiding judge at the time, according to the Dec. 18 legal filing. Grossman was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the deaths of two young boys who had been crossing the street. She was convicted of second-degree murder and other charges stemming from a Sept. 29, 2020, crash that killed Jacob Iskander, 8, and Mark Iskander, 11.
Rebecca Grossman, left, was convicted of second-degree murder and other charges stemming from a Sept. 29, 2020, crash that killed Jacob Iskander, 8, and Mark Iskander, 11. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
"The presiding judge rebuked Buzbee, declaring, ‘[w]e cannot have the defense violating pre-trial rulings and expose the jury to evidence that contradicts those rulings,’ and reprimanded him for his conduct, stating that if it continued, the court would ‘consider financially sanctioning [Buzbee], and reporting to the state bar,’" according to the court docs.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Buzbee for comment.
WATCH: JAY-Z ISSUES SCATHING DENIAL TO ALLEGATIONS HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL
On Friday, Nov. 20, Buzbee fired back at Jay-Z’s legal team regarding their allegations of misconduct.
According to court docs obtained by Fox News Digital, Buzbee called their demand for sanctions against him "frivolous." He accused Jay-Z and his lawyers of using "tactics of intimidation and harassment even more extreme, tortious and quite possibly illegal."
In the filing, Buzbee said for Jay-Z to expect the plaintiff to have "perfect recall" of events that happened over 20 years ago, when "Jane Doe" was a minor, is "outrageous."
Buzbee called Jay-Z’s filing a "baseless complaint" and his "threat of an ‘immediate’ sanctions motion on the first whisper of factual uncertainty is just one more instance of bullying."
The lawyer asked the court not to impose sanctions, noting the similarities between Diddy and Jay-Z.
"Like Mr. Combs, Mr. Carter is rich, famous, and powerful. Mr. Carter will exert all the pressure he can to intimidate and harass Plaintiff, me, or anyone else."
Fox News Digital has reached out to Jay-Z for comment.
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Jay-Z denied the sexual assault allegations. (Photo by Monica Schipper/WireImage)
Jay-Z was added to Jane Doe's lawsuit against Combs on Dec. 8. The amended complaint named the rap mogul as "Celebrity A."
In the new version of the lawsuit, the 13-year-old became disoriented and found a bedroom to rest in after allegedly consuming one drink. Jay-Z, Diddy and female "Celebrity B" seemingly followed the girl into the room. She "immediately recognized all three celebrities," according to the court document.
Jay-Z allegedly raped the girl, followed by Diddy's alleged rape of the plaintiff, all while "celebrity B" watched, the lawsuit stated.
The "Empire State of Mind" rapper vehemently denied the allegations in a statement shared on Roc Nation's social media.
"These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case," he wrote, in part.
Diddy has also denied the allegations against him.
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