NEW YORK– A lawyer defending Jay-Z against the rape accusation filed against him last week by an unnamed woman outlined a series of evidence Monday that he said showed the accuser’s story was “demonstrably, demonstrably false.”
The woman told NBC News last week that Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs sexually assaulted her at an MTV Music Awards after-party in 2000, when she was 13. She has done so ever since acknowledged certain inconsistencies in her story.
Speaking to reporters at Roc Nation’s headquarters in New York, Jay-Z’s lawyer Alex Spiro said the woman’s claim relied on an “impossible timeline” and a non-existent location. Although the lawsuit stated that the attack took place in a “large white home with a U-shaped driveway,” photos show both Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, and Combs at a nightclub after the awards ceremony.
In the suit, the woman said she snuck out of a window of her Rochester home and hitched a ride to the awards ceremony of a friend, who has since died. She said she watched the event outside on a jumbotron and then befriended a limousine driver who drove her to the house party where she was attacked by the two rap moguls.
After the alleged rape, she said she fled the house and called her father for a ride home from a nearby gas station.
The accusation, Spiro said, “defies credibility.” It would have taken her five hours to drive from Rochester, the attorney noted, meaning she would have had to leave her home by 3 p.m. Permits and photos show there was no jumbotron outside the VMAs in 2000, Spiro said. The woman’s father has said he does not remember driving from Rochester to pick her up in New York City.
“It’s not just that this story is a lie and it’s not true, it’s demonstrably untrue,” Spiro said. “This never happened.”
The suit comes amid a wave of sexual abuse lawsuits against Combs, who remains in custody in New York awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty and will be tried in May.
The lawsuits were filed on the eve of the expiration of the Adult Survivors Acta New York law that gives victims of sexual abuse one year to bring civil action, regardless of the statute of limitations.
After Combs was initially charged, the woman’s complaint was amended to include a new allegation that Jay-Z also participated in the assault while a third unnamed celebrity watched.
The lawsuit was filed by Tony Buzbee, a Houston personal injury attorney whose company has set up a toll-free phone line for plaintiffs. In October, Buzbee said he represented about 120 peoplemen and women, with allegations of sexual misconduct against Combs.
Last month, Jay-Z went anonymous indicted Buzbee, who alleged that the lawyer had tried to blackmail him into making the rape accusation public if he did not agree to a legal settlement. Buzbee has said the letter was simply trying to set up a confidential mediation session.
In a statement last week, Jay-Z said his “heart and support go out to the real victims in the world.”
On Monday, Spiro accused Buzbee of “taking advantage” of the woman while “destroying this opportunity and the voices of real victims.”
In an emailed statement Monday, Buzbee said the woman was referred to him by another law firm and vetted by four attorneys from his firm.
“There are courts to resolve factual disputes,” Buzbee added. “Our client remains adamant about her claim.”