Jay-Z and Diddy Accuser Acknowledges She’s ‘Made Mistakes’ but Stands By Rape Allegation as Rapper Releases New Statement: Report
The woman who accused Jay-Z and Diddy in a lawsuit of raping her when she was 13 years old is standing by her allegations of the “catastrophic event”
The woman who accused Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her when she was 13 years old is standing by her allegations made in a lawsuit against the rappers despite making “some mistakes” in her recollection of the alleged 2000 event, according to NBC News.
The woman, who filed under Jane Doe and is being represented by Tony Buzbee, told NBC News on Dec. 13 that she has “made some mistakes” when recalling the “catastrophic event.” However, she said that although her report of the incident contains inconsistencies, it does not mean her allegations are false.
Jane Doe named Jay-Z and Combs in a civil lawsuit on Dec. 8. In it, she alleged she was assaulted after she was driven to an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty in 2000. The same civil lawsuit was originally filed in New York City on Oct. 20, with the names of two celebrities redacted and only listed Combs as a defendant. An amended complaint was filed on Dec. 8 to name Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter.
Per NBC News, Doe’s inconsistencies include the report that her father picked her up after the alleged sexual assault, but he says he doesn’t recall that. Doe also claimed she spoke to a celebrity, Benji Madden, at the afterparty, but that celebrity said he was not in New York at the time. Additionally, photos from the event show Carter and Combs at different locations; however, the rappers’ whereabouts for the entire evening are unknown.
“You should always advocate for yourself and be a voice for yourself,” the now 38-year-old woman told NBC News. “You should never let what somebody else did ruin or run your life. I just hope I can give others the strength to come forward like I came forward.”
Doe said she was living in Rochester, New York, in 2000 and snuck out of her house. Her friend had driven her to Radio City Music Hall in N.Y.C. She didn’t have a ticket, but she told NBC News that she started talking to limo drivers about going to an after-party.
She says one limo driver who claimed he worked for Combs told her that she “fit what Diddy was looking for.” According to the filing, he took her to an after-party, where she signed a document that she didn’t read.
Doe told NBC News that after she accepted a drink from a waitress, she “started feeling funny” and looked for “a place to lay down.” Doe claims she found an empty room, and soon, Combs, Carter, and an unidentified woman entered.
Both Combs and Carter raped her, she alleged. “Jay-Z comes over, holds me down. I start trying to push away. He puts his hand over my mouth, tells me to stop it, to cut the s—, and then he rapes me like he had me overpowered,” she claimed to NBC News. After, she fled 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 further alleged. “We rode home in silence. He didn’t ask me what happened. He didn’t ask me what I did or where I was.”
Doe said she never reported the alleged assault. “Even if somebody found out, who was gonna believe me? I mean, it was to the word of two celebrities against mine,” she claimed.
“Today’s investigative report proves this ‘attorney’ Buzbee filed a false complaint against me in the pursuit of money and fame,” Carter said in a statement to PEOPLE. “This incident didn’t happen and yet he filed it in court and doubled down in the press,” Carter wrote. “True Justice is coming. We fight FROM victory, not FOR victory. This was over before it began. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but, soon.”
Carter’s attorney, Alex Spiro, issued a statement to PEOPLE, “It is stunning that a lawyer would not only file such a serious complaint without proper vetting but would make things worse by further peddling this false story in the press. We are asking the Court to dismiss this frivolous case today, and will take up the matter of additional discipline for Mr. Buzbee and all the lawyers that filed the complaint.”
PEOPLE also reviewed a filing Spiro made to the court Friday night after Doe’s NBC News Interview was published.
“The interview outs plaintiff’s allegations for what they are: a sham,” Spiro wrote, claiming that “basic facts in [Does] narrative — the who, what, where, when, and where — are wrong.”
Spiro alleged that Doe claimed to have spoken with Good Charlotte singer Benji Madden, but he was on tour in the Midwest, allegedly “forcing her to admit, ‘I have made some mistakes.’ ” He also disputed her claim that the alleged assault happened an afterparty at Combs’ home, but photos placed him and Jay-Z at a nightclub for the afterparty instead. In summary, Spiro wrote, Doe’s complaint filed by Spiro has “no factual basis whatsoever.”
Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing Doe and multiple victims in allegations against Diddy, stated her case was referred to his firm.
“Our client remains fiercely adamant that what she has stated is true, to the best of her memory. 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,” Buzbee told NBC News.
He continued: “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.”
PEOPLE reached out to Buzbee and Diddy’s representatives for comments.
“Yesterday, a lawyer admitted that over 50 people falsely claimed to be victims. Today, for the second time this week, a Buzbee plaintiff has been exposed. This is the beginning of the end of this shameful money grab,” a statement from Diddy’s attorneys reads.
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