Jay-Z Accused of Raping 13-Year Old Girl With Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2000

Hip hop artist and business mogul Jay-Z has been named as a defendant in a federal lawsuit which alleges that he, together with hip hop impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs, drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl in 2000.

The lawsuit was originally filed by an anonymous “Jane Doe” plaintiff in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in October. It named Combs as the defendant, alongside many of his corporate entities, including Bad Boy Entertainment and Bad Boy Records. Yesterday, the lawsuit was amended to add Jay-Z, a co-defendant, whose real name is Shawn Carter.

The lawsuit alleges that 2000 the plaintiff went to the MTV Video Music Awards in New York City without a ticket, hoping to get in.  There, a limousine driver who claimed he worked for Combs invited her to an afterparty.  He drove her to the party, where she alleges that she was made to sign a document that she believed was a non-disclosure agreement.   She further alleges that upon drinking a portion of a beverage that was given to her by one of the waitresses at the party, she began feeling dizzy and lightheaded and found a room with a bed so she could lie down.

The lawsuit alleges that Carter, Combs and an unidentified female celebrity, who Plaintiff recognized, subsequently entered the room, and Carter held her down and raped her while Combs and the woman watched. Then Combs raped her while Carter and the woman watched.  The lawsuit further alleges that Combs then tried to force her to perform oral sex on him, but she hit him, grabbed her clothes and ran away, escaping to a gas station outside where she used the phone to call her father.  

The lawsuit alleges violation of the New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act (VGMVPA). The VGMVPA provides a private cause of action for any individual who has been injured by another in a crime of violence motivated by gender.  The VGMVPA temporarily suspends the statute of limitations for alleged acts that violate this law, even if the alleged acts took place decades ago and were previously time-barred.  The VGMVPA allows individuals to recover economic damages,  damages for emotional distress, punitive damages and attorney’s fees and expenses.

The lawsuit is one of many filed against Combs by Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee on behalf of more than a hundred plaintiffs.  Buzbee previously made a name for himself representing twenty-two women who brought claims against Houston Texans quarterback DeSean Watson in 2021 for claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault.  All the claims were eventually settled out of court. 

Carter responded to the lawsuit in a statement, writing that “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!!”

Buzbee was sued in November by an anonymous male celebrity who alleges that Buzbee tried to extort payments by threatening to file sexual assault claims against him, which the celebrity denies.  Buzbee denies all allegations of extortion.  The anonymous celebrity has been alleged by Buzbee and in the media to be Jay-Z himself. 

In a post on X on December 8, Buzbee responded to Carter, writing that “What he fails to say in his recent statement is my firm sent his lawyer a demand letter on behalf of an alleged victim and that victim never demanded a penny from him. Instead, she only sought a confidential mediation.  Since I sent the letter on her behalf, Mr. Carter has not only sued me, but he has tried to bully and harass me and this plaintiff. His conduct has had the opposite impact. She is emboldened. I’m very proud of her resolve.”

Buzbee also claimed in an Instagram post that there was a concerted campaign to intimidate him, including “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.”