Hip-hop star Jay-Z has strongly denied allegations in the case that he and his entertainment partner Sean “Diddy” Combs raped a 13-year-old girl more than twenty years ago.
The complaint was amended on Sunday in US District Court in New York to add Jay-Z as a defendant after Combs filed his suit in October. She alleges that they “took turns hitting the baby” at a party after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000.
In a statement released Sunday by Roc Nation, Jay-Z's entertainment company, Tony Buzbee, the attorney for the anonymous accuser, said.
“These allegations are so bad that I urge you to file a criminal case, not a civil one!” said the statement. “Anyone who would commit such a crime against a young child should be locked up, don't you agree?”
The statement called the lawsuit's claims “absurd” and something that would be laughed off “if not for the evil surrounding the harm to children.”
“You made a huge error in judgment by thinking that all 'celebrities are the same,'” the statement said. “I don't belong to your world. I am a successful young man in Brooklyn. We don't play these kinds of games. We have strict codes of conduct and respect. We protect children. …”
Federal prosecutors indicted Combs in September on charges including sex trafficking and racketeering. He pleaded not guilty.
Buzbee, a Texas-based attorney, has filed multiple lawsuits against Combs since his arrest. The attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An anonymous celebrity sued Buzbee in Los Angeles County Superior Court in November, accusing the attorney of threatening to “reveal false and malicious allegations of sexual harassment” if the celebrity did not participate in a “confidential interview.” The lawsuit said Buzbee alleges that the celebrity raped “many children, men and women, who were drugged at events organized by Combs.”
On Sunday, Buzbee took issue with Jay-Z on social media: “Mr. Carter previously denied that he was the one who sued me and my firm. He filed his criminal case under a false name. … Since I sent him the letter, Mr. Carter not only sued me, but tried to abuse and harass me and this plaintiff. His behavior had the opposite effect. You are brave. I am very proud of his decision.”
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
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