Last month, the hip-hop world was rocked when Shawn Carter — better known around the globe as the rapper Jay-Z — was sued alongside disgraced rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs over an alleged sexual assault that was said to have taken place in 2000, when the plaintiff in the case was only 13 years old.
Carter has strenuously and vehemently denied the accusations against him, and the New York-born rapper and entrepreneur has resented this link to Diddy — who will stand trial in May on federal charges that include racketeering and sex trafficking. Jay-Z is hell-bent on clearing his name, and his most recent court filings are another step in that direction.
Carter’s legal team argues for dismissal
Jay‘s legal team — led by attorney Alex Spiro — has filed a new motion that asks for the lawsuit’s dismissal, in light of the accuser’s revelation that there were “inconsistencies” in her account of that alleged rape in 2000, following that year’s MTV Video Music Awards. In addition, Jay-Z is asking for sanctions on Tony Buzbee, the attorney representing the plaintiff; Carter has alleged that Buzbee is an “ambulance chaser” and failed to investigate his client’s claims fully prior to filing suit.
“To sign a pleading accusing someone of such a horrific crime without adequately vetting the allegation – particularly when the defendant’s prominence means that the allegation will be repeated in headlines across the world – is deeply wrong and unethical,” Carter’s lawyers said.
The plaintiff, who has been granted continued anonymity as the case proceeds, claimed that her father picked her up from the afterparty in which she claims Combs and Carter raped her; the parent in question has claimed he does not remember doing so. This is one of several inconsistencies that Carter’s legal team has pounced on in their analysis of the case as they pursue a dismissal.
For Carter’s part, he has been consistent in referring to the case as attempted blackmail as well as in denying any ties to Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records. Carter, whose wealth soared after the establishment of his entertainment company Roc Nation in 2008, has been described by Buzbee as “reeking of desperation”, setting the stage for a ferocious legal battle in 2025.