The woman who accused Jay-Z and Diddy of raping her when she was 13 years old has acknowledged there have been inconsistencies in her allegations.
It was reported last week (December 9) that Jay-Z – real name Shawn Carter – was named in a lawsuit which alleges the rape of a 13-year-old girl in 2000 by the rapper and Diddy, real name Sean Combs.
In a statement issued via Roc Nation, Carter called the allegations “heinous in nature” and dismissed them as a “blackmail attempt”. He implored lawyer Tony Buzbee to file the lawsuit as a “criminal complaint, not a civil one”.
The rapper has since filed a court letter seeking the dismissal of the lawsuit and the identity reveal of the accuser, while maintaining his innocence.
Carter’s lawyer Alex Spiro wrote in a court letter: “Mr. Carter deserves to know the identity of the person who is effectively accusing him – in sensationalised, publicity-hunting fashion – of criminal conduct, demanding massive financial compensation, and tarnishing a reputation earned over decades.”
However, NBC News reported earlier today (December 14) that the unnamed accuser, known in court documents as Jane Doe, has admitted to making “some mistakes” in her recollection of that night.
In a video interview with the news outlet, the woman, now 35, recalled the alleged events of the night from her memory as outlined in the lawsuit.
However, additional reporting by NBC News found that her father – who is mentioned in the lawsuit as picking her up after the alleged sexual assault – said that he does not recall the night as stated.
“I feel like I would remember that, and I don’t,” he told NBC News. “I have a lot going on, but I mean, that’s something that would definitely stick in my mind.” He added that he did remember once picking her up in the middle of the night, but it “was a local drive”. Watch the video interview below.
NBC News added that her claim in the interview that she met Good Charlotte‘s Benji Madden at the afterparty was refuted by the band’s spokesperson, who said that Benji and his bandmate and brother Joel Madden were on tour in the Midwest at the time.
The news outlet also noted that images from the evening show Carter and Combs at a different location than the one the woman described, although their whereabouts for the whole evening have not been made clear.
“Honestly, what is the clearest is what happened to me and [the] route that I took to what happened to me. Not all of the faces there are as clear,” the woman said in a follow-up interview with NBC News. “So I have made some mistakes. I may have made a mistake in identifying.”
In a statement by her lawyer Buzbee, he told NBC News: “We agree he states he doesn’t remember… His daughter explains that he was in no state to remember during that point in time due to personal issues he was having then. We are talking about a time frame more than twenty years ago.” The woman also could not provide further information about the VMAs afterparty she said she attended.
On the legitimacy of the woman’s claims, Buzbee said: “Jane Doe’s case was referred to our firm by another, who vetted it prior to sending it to us. Our client remains fiercely adamant that what she has stated is true, to the best of her memory.”
“We will continue to vet her claims and collect corroborating data to the extent it exists. Because we have interrogated her intensely, she has even agreed to submit to a polygraph. I’ve never had a client suggest that before.”
He added that “we always do out best to vet each claim made, just as we did in this case,” while claiming that the whole ordeal has been “extremely distressing” for the woman, who has allegedly “experienced seizures” and has sought “medical treatment due to the stress.”
In a statement, Carter told NBC News that the “incident didn’t happen” but Buzbee “filed it in court and doubled down in the press.”
“True Justice is coming. We fight FROM victory, not FOR victory,” the rapper continued. “This was over before it began. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but, soon.”
The accuser is seeking unspecified damages, with the lawsuit filed under New York’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act.
On Thursday (December 12), the NFL commented on the state of its relationship with Jay-Z and Roc Nation amid the allegations, stating that their “relationship’s not changing” with Roc Nation.
For more help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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