Hip-hop megastar Jay-Z has emphatically denied accusations in a lawsuit that he and fellow entertainer Sean “Diddy” Combs raped a 13-year-old girl more than two decades ago.
The complaint was amended Sunday in U.S. District Court in New York to add Jay-Z as a defendant after originally being filed against Combs in October. It alleges they “took turns assaulting the minor” at a party after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000.
In a statement issued Sunday by Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s entertainment company, he assailed Tony Buzbee, the attorney for the anonymous accuser.
“These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!” the statement said. “Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?”
The statement called the lawsuit’s claims “idiotic” and something that would be laughable “if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids.”
“You have made a terrible error in judgment in thinking that all ‘celebrities are the same,’” the statement said. “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 and honor. We protect children. …”
Federal prosecutors charged Combs in September with crimes including sex trafficking and racketeering. He has pleaded not guilty.
Buzbee, a Texas-based attorney, has filed several lawsuits against Combs since his arrest. The attorney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
An anonymous celebrity sued Buzbee in Los Angeles County Superior Court in November, accusing the attorney of threatening to “unleash entirely fabricated and malicious allegations of sexual assault” if the celebrity didn’t participate in a “confidential mediation.” The lawsuit said Buzbee alleged the celebrity raped “multiple minors, both male and female, who had been drugged at parties hosted by Combs.”
On Sunday, Buzbee pushed back against Jay-Z on social media: “Mr. Carter previously denied being the one who sued me and my firm. He filed his frivolous case under a pseudonym. … 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.”
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
