Hip-hop’s first billionaire, Jay-Z, denies raping 13-year-old with Diddy: ‘Blackmail attempt’
Hip-hop's first billionaire, Shawn Carter, popularly known by his stage name Jay-Z, vowed to show Texas trial lawyer Tony Buzbee that he is not a celebrity to be toyed with after being accused along with fellow rapper and music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs in a civil lawsuit Sunday of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000.
"You have made a terrible error in judgement 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 of honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain," Carter, who is married to singer Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, said in a statement shared on Instagram by his recording company, Roc Nation, calling the allegations "a blackmail attempt."
"Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics (sic), will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable. I look forward to showing you just how different I am."
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The lawsuit, first reported by NBC News, was originally filed in October in the Southern District of New York, listing Combs as a defendant. But it was reportedly refiled Sunday to include Carter.
Combs could face the possibility of life in prison after federal prosecutors charged him in September with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution in relation to his infamous "Freak Off" parties. Combs has pleaded not guilty. Carter doesn't face any criminal charges.
Carter's accuser, identified only as Jane Doe, alleged that she was assaulted by Carter and Combs at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party when she was 13.
Buzbee of The Buzbee Law Firm, who represented the women who accused NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson of assault, highlighted in a statement on Instagram Sunday night that he is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who did not intend to back down in the face of aggressive harassment.
"Despite a coordinated and aggressive effort that has included harassing my kids, contacting my clients and former clients to encourage them to sue me, contacting my colleagues or former employees asking if I've 'abused' them, showing up at my current employees' homes to harass them, filing frivolous cases against me and my law firm, defaming me with outrageous assertions to anyone who will listen, and having mysterious people follow me and my family, I'm still THAT guy," Buzbee said.
He pointed out that he was the weapons platoon commander of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion 4th Marines.
"I won't be bullied or intimidated," the lawyer added. "People will see through this effort to discredit me and my clients, and the truth will be revealed. I also won't allow anyone to scare my clients into silence. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and I am quite certain the sun is coming."
Buzbee's client alleges that a friend dropped her off at the VMAs at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, but she did not have a ticket to attend the event.
She alleged that she approached several limousine drivers to try to gain access to the show or an after-party until one driver told her that he worked for Combs and she "fit what Diddy was looking for."
She claims the driver invited her to an after-party and transported her to the event, which was held at a white house with a U-shaped driveway. The alleged victim said she signed what she believes is a non-disclosure agreement to attend the party, which was full of celebrities indulging in the use of cocaine and marijuana.
She recalled being offered a drink, which made her "woozy, lightheaded and felt [like] she needed to lie down," she said. She says that after she went to a room to rest, both Carter and Combs showed up, and Combs asked her, "You are ready to party!"
Carter is accused of stripping her of her clothes and raping her as Combs and an unnamed female celebrity watched. Combs then raped her as Carter and the woman watched.
The alleged victim said Combs also tried forcing her to perform oral sex on him, but she hit him in the neck and he "stopped."
Before filing the lawsuit, Buzbee said he sought to resolve the claim through mediation, but Carter dismissed it as a "blackmail attempt."
"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 the 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!!" Carter stressed in his statement on Instagram.
"The 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 types of theatrics!" he argued.
"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," Carter noted.
The hip-hop mogul, who has a net worth of $2.5 billion, according to Forbes, said his "only heartbreak" about the allegations is having to explain them to his children and robbing them of their "innocence."
"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," Carter said.
"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."
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