Jay-Z says lawsuit accusing him of raping a child at MTV awards party is part of an extortion ploy
NEW YORK– The rapper Jay Z says the rape allegations against him are part of an extortion attempt.
A woman who previously filed a lawsuit Sean “Diddy” Combswho alleged she was raped at an awards show after-party in 2000 when she was 13, amended the lawsuit Sunday with a new claim that Jay-Z was also at the party and participated in the sexual assault.
Jay-Z called the allegations ‘idiotic’ and ‘horrific in nature’ a statement released by one of his companies. He also revealed that he had anonymously sued the woman’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, in California, alleging that Buzbee tried to blackmail him by threatening to make the rape accusation public if he did not agree to a legal settlement.
Jay-Z said a letter his attorney received from Buzbee appeared to seek a settlement but had the “opposite effect.”
“It made me want to expose you in a VERY public way for the fraud you are committing,” his statement read. “So no, I won’t give you a single red cent!!”
The lawsuit is part of a wave of… sexual abuse lawsuits levied against Combs as the hip-hop mogul remains in custody in New York awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The woman, who is not named in the lawsuit, says she was hanging out at Radio City Music Hall during the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards and managed to convince a limousine driver to take her to a celebrity-studded party at a private home. event.
She said that while she was in the limo, she was asked to sign a confidentiality document. Once at the party, the lawsuit said, she took a drink that left her feeling “woozy and light-headed” and went to a bedroom to lie down.
She said Combs and Jay Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, then burst into the room along with another unnamed celebrity and raped her.
Buzbee, a personal injury attorney from Houston, Texas, announced his representation during a press conference in October about 120 people – both men and women – with allegations of sexual misconduct against Combs.
His firm, which has set up a 1-800 number for prosecutors, started submitting a wave of lawsuits against the hip-hop mogul a few weeks later.
Combs’ attorneys denied the allegations at the time and criticized the press conference and hotline as “obvious attempts to garner publicity.”
Buzbee said the accusation that he tried to blackmail Jay-Z is “stupid and laughable,” and said his letter simply requested confidential mediation on the lawsuit.
“What he fails to say in his recent statement is that my firm sent his attorney a demand letter on behalf of an alleged victim and the victim never demanded a dime from him,” he said in an emailed statement. “Since I sent the letter on her behalf, Mr. Carter has not only sued me, but has attempted to bully and harass me and this accuser. His behavior has had the opposite effect. She is encouraged. I am very proud of her determination.”
Emails requesting additional comment were sent to Jay-Z representatives on Monday.
“My only heartbreak is for my family,” he said in the statement posted on social media by his entertainment company Roc Nation. “My wife and I will have to sit down our children, one of whom is at the age when her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people.”
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Succeed Philip Marcelo twitter.com/philmarcelo.