Jay-Z (born Shawn Carter) filed his first response today to allegations of rape that came to light in a lawsuit pertaining to Sean “Diddy” Combs ongoing trafficking allegations. Last night, Carter was named (after previously being described as “Celebrity A”) in a civil lawsuit that alleged he and Combs raped a 13-year-old girl at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty in 2000. The mogul fired back almost immediately, painting the allegations as a “blackmail attempt” in a statement shared to Roc Nation’s Twitter/X account. In the statement, Carter painted prosecution lawyer Tony Buzbee as a fraud, and wrote, “These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!!”
Today, Billboard reports that Carter filed a legal motion of his own, with his lawyer Alex Spiro framing the accusations as “extortionate” and arguing that the Jane Doe accuser must have her name revealed. “Mr. Carter deserves to know the identity of the person who is effectively accusing him — in sensationalized, publicity-hunting fashion — of criminal conduct, demanding massive financial compensation, and tarnishing a reputation earned over decades,” the filing reads, in part.
“Mr. Carter now is entitled to defend himself against these allegations with benefit of all the protections and mechanisms available to defendants,” Spiro writes elsewhere in the motion. “To be sure, attorney Buzbee’s game has been to prevent Mr. Carter from defending himself while punching below the belt. Today, that game is at an end and Mr. Carter’s defense has begun — starting with plaintiff’s unmasking.”
Billboard notes that while accusers can sometimes remain anonymous out of concerns for their safety, that largely has not been the case so far in the Combs case proceedings. Judge Jessica G.L. Clarke decided in February that the Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey sexual misconduct and abuse lawsuits, which included Jane Doe and John Doe accusers, were “the exception and not the rule.” In a separate case in October, Garth Brooks outed the identity of an anonymous woman who claimed he assaulted and raped her; Brooks also argued he was being extorted by the allegations.
