Jay-Z has responded to a civil lawsuit alleging that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl in 2000.
The rapper and business mogul, whose real name is Shawn Carter, denied the allegations in a statement issued on the Roc Nation X account Dec. 8. In it, he underlined the impact he believed the lawsuit will have on his wife, Beyoncé, and their three children.
The federal lawsuit was originally filed in October against Sean “Diddy” Combs and was refiled in New York on Dec. 8 to include Carter. The filing was made by an anonymous accuser, identified only as “Jane Doe.”
The lawsuit alleges the incident took place at a 2000 Video Music Awards afterparty, and that Carter and Combs drugged and raped the plaintiff.
It was one of five lawsuits filed against Combs in the Southern District of New York by Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee this October, which allege Combs sexually assaulted or raped plaintiffs, all of whom are unnamed, NBC News reported.
Combs, via his lawyer, denied all accusations in October. “Mr. Combs and his legal team have full confidence in the facts, their legal defenses, and the integrity of the judicial process,” the statement said. “In court, the truth will prevail that Mr. Combs has never sexually assault anyone — adult or minor, man or woman.”
Carter, in his statement, called the allegations “idiotic.” He sketched out the conversation he said he will now have to have with his children — Blue Ivy, 12, and twins Sir and Rumi, 7.
“My only heartbreak is for my family,” he said. “My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims and explain the cruelty and greed of people. I mourn yet another loss of innocence.”
“Children should not have to endure such at their young age. It is unfair to have to try to understand inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirit,” he continued.
Carter denounced the entire lawsuit as the work of a “fraud” and said his intention was to “expose” Buzbee. On Dec. 9, Carter’s attorney filed a motion asking the judge to deny the plaintiff anonymity. The motion also called what proceeded the suit an “extortionate campaign.”
Speaking to NBC News Dec. 9, Buzbee responded to Carter’s attorney’s filings, saying, “Anyone that suggested a demand letter, especially the one that I sent, is extortion or blackmail is foolish. These kinds of demand letters are sent on a daily basis across the United States, and attempting to attack me to take the focus off of the alleged perpetrator won’t work and it won’t intimidate us.”
Buzbee previously clarified the plaintiff’s demand letter sought confidential mediation, not money.
Buzbee said he amended the lawsuit to include Carter’s name because his client “authorized us to do so.”
Read Jay-Z’s complete response to accusations
“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 make me want to settle.
“No, sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!
“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.
“This lawyer, who I have done a bit of research on, seems to have a pattern of these type of theatrics!
“I have no idea how you have come to be such a deplorable human, Mr. Buzbee, but I promise you, I have seen your kind many times over. I’m more than prepared to deal with your type. You claim to be a marine?! Marines are known for their valor, you have neither honor nor dignity.
“My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people. I mourn yet another loss of innocence. Children should not have to endure such at their young age. It is unfair to have to try to understand inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirit.
“My heart and support goes out to true victims in the world, who have to watch how their life story is dressed in costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser in a cheap suit.
“You have made a terrible error in judgment, thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same. I’m not from your world. I’m a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. We don’t play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain. Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me. If not for this seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable.
