On Wednesday, Jay-Z filed to dismiss a federal lawsuit that accuses him and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping a 13-year-old girl in New York in 2000.
Jay-Z’s attorney, as reported by Variety, pointed to a December NBC News interview where the accuser mentioned making errors with her claims. Jay-Z not only sought to have the lawsuit dismissed but also urged the court to penalize the accuser’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, and his law company for not properly investigating the allegations leveled against Jay-Z.
The accuser, referred to as “Jane Doe,” who is 37 years old, alleged that Combs also was involved in the sexual assault that reportedly took place at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty. She recounted feeling disoriented after consuming a single drink, at which point Combs grabbed her and exclaimed, “You are ready to party!”
READ: Jay-Z Allowed to Seek Dismissal of Lawsuit Accusing Him, Diddy of Child Rape
Following this, the woman claimed that both Combs and the male celebrity (later revealed to be Jay-Z, birth name Shawn Carter) undressed her, after which the male celebrity sexually assaulted her with Combs and another female celebrity present. The woman accused Combs of also assaulting her while the two celebrities witnessed the scene. She added that Combs attempted to coerce her into performing oral sex but desisted when she struck him in the neck.
The victim in that case is being represented by Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee, who filed multiple lawsuits on behalf of other clients who have accused Combs of sexual assault and rape. The woman initially filed the lawsuit against Combs in October — but she refiled it in December to include Carter.
Last month, Torres ruled against dismissing the lawsuit. She also ruled that Combs and Carter’s accuser can remain anonymous for now, but that could change based on ongoing proceedings and additional evidence.
Combs and Carter’s accuser has until the end of February to contest the latest motion to dismiss, and Carter must respond by mid-March.
On September 16, Combs was arrested outside a Manhattan hotel on federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has been denied bail twice, as Judge Andrew L. Carter determined he should remain in custody.
Combs’ legal team sought home detention with GPS monitoring. In exchange, they offered to post $50 million bail and to use Combs’ home as collateral.
“The government has proven the defendant is a danger. The bail package is insufficient even on risk of flight,” Carter said while denying Combs’ bail a second time.
In March, federal authorities raided Combs’ homes in Holmby Hills, California, and Miami. Reports indicated that the raid was connected to an ongoing sex trafficking investigation that resulted in his arrest months later.
The reported raids also occurred four months after his ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, accused him of sex trafficking and abuse. In a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, she alleged that Combs drugged her and forced her to have sex with other men. The pair settled the lawsuit a day after its filing.
However, in May, a video surfaced showing Combs assaulting Ventura at a California hotel in 2016. After the video was released, Combs put out a video expressing remorse for his behavior. That video is mentioned in the criminal charges filed this week against Combs.
Two more accusers came forward a week after Ventura’s lawsuit. One of the women claimed Combs drugged and raped her at Syracuse University in New York in 1991. Combs denied those allegations before a third accuser, Liza Gardner, levied similar allegations against him.
In that case, Gardner claimed Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall drugged and raped her and a friend following an Uptown Records event in 1990. Gardner said she was 16 at the time of the incident. She also accused Combs of choking her a day after the assault.
Days after footage of the 2016 assault was publicized, two more women filed lawsuits against Combs. One of those women was April Lampros, a New York Fashion Institute of Technology student who reportedly met Combs in 1994. Lampros accused Combs of sexually assaulting her on four instances between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s.
Lampros claimed Combs promised to mentor her and connect her with executives in the fashion industry. Instead, Combs allegedly forced her to drink before raping her in a hotel room. Lampros recalled another instance in which Combs forced her to perform oral sex on her in a parking garage while a parking attendant watched.
Combs has been accused of committing or facilitating sexual abuse in at least eight other lawsuits. He has denied those allegations. His federal trial is set to begin in May.
[Feature Photo: AP Photo/Kevork Djanseziaz]
