Jay-Z says inconsistencies in rape accuser’s story proves her attorney was looking for ‘money and fame’
Jay-Z at an event in January in Los Angeles.
By Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN
(CNN) — Jay-Z is doubling down on his denial that he ever raped a teenage girl alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs, saying that newly revealed inconsistencies in her story prove that her account is not credible.
Earlier this week, an anonymous Jane Doe filed an amended complaint against Combs and Jay-Z, whose given name is Shawn Carter, which revealed that a previously unnamed celebrity in her original complaint against Combs, initially filed in October, was Carter. In the amended complaint, Carter is accused of raping the then-13-year-old Jane Doe at an afterparty for the MTV Video Music Awards in the year 2000.
The amended complaint made Carter the first celebrity to be accused of sexual assault in connection to Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to three federal charges and is awaiting a criminal trial.
In a new interview on Friday, the Jane Doe said she is standing by her rape accusation against Carter, but admits to inconsistencies in her original story, including key corroborating witnesses.
“I have made some mistakes,” the Jane Doe told NBC News. “You should always advocate for yourself and be a voice for yourself. You should never let what somebody else did ruin or run your life. I just hope I can give others the strength to come forward like I came forward.”
In her initial complaint, Jane Doe said that she asked her father to pick her up in 2000 after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by Carter and Combs. But her father now said that he does not recall picking her up, according to NBC News, which also reported that Jane Doe said that she spoke to a celebrity the night she alleged she was raped, but that celebrity said they were not in New York at the time her allegations took place.
Jane Doe’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, said that he is still vetting his client’s claims, but is standing by her accusations.
“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,” Buzbee told CNN via email on Friday evening. “In any event, we always do our best to vet each claim made, just as we did in this case. This has been extremely distressing for her, to the point she has experienced seizures and had to seek medical treatment due to the stress.”
In a statement issued to CNN, Carter said that the woman’s inconsistencies “proves” that Buzbee “filed a false complaint against me in the pursuit of money and fame.”
“This incident didn’t happen and yet he filed it in court and doubled down in the press,” Carter’s statement continued. “True Justice is coming. We fight FROM victory, not FOR victory. This was over before it began. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but, soon.”
Carter’s attorney, Alex Spiro, told CNN: “It is stunning that a lawyer would not only file such a serious complaint without proper vetting, but would make things worse by further peddling this false story in the press. We are asking the Court to dismiss this frivolous case today, and will take up the matter of additional discipline for Mr. Buzbee and all the lawyers that filed the complaint.”
Spiro also filed a letter to the judge on Friday night, regarding the inconsistencies in Jane Doe’s account, calling her allegations a “sham.”
“Basic facts in her narrative – the who, what, when, and where – are wrong,” Spiro wrote to the judge. “When pressed, the Plaintiff admitted she was ‘guessing’ about key details… She admits she has no single corroborating witness over the last 24 years.”
Prior to Buzbee filing Jane Doe’s amended complaint in which Carter was named, Carter’s lawyers had filed an extortion suit against Buzbee, claiming that the Houston-based attorney was trying to “shakedown innocent celebrities, politicians, and businesspeople with an army of masked accusers.”
Lawyers for Combs, who has previously denied all civil allegations against him, criticized Buzbee in a statement to CNN.
“This is the beginning of the end of this shameful money grab.”
The-CNN-Wire
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