[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
The woman who has accused Diddy and JAY-Z of sexual assault has come forward to speak out about her allegations in her first-ever television interview.
As Perezcious readers know, a woman sued the Bad Boy Records founder in October for raping her at an afterparty in New York following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards when she was only 13. She claimed a female and male celebrity watched the assault and that the male star also assaulted her. The two celebrities’ identities were not revealed at the time. Then, the anonymous woman amended her complaint last weekend to include JAY-Z. He denied the accusations and has been fighting back hard to dismiss the case ever since.
On Friday, the woman addressed her allegations in an interview with NBC News and admitted to making “some mistakes” in her story! Whoa! Now, that may have some huge ramifications when it comes to her case moving forward!
Related: Will Smith Denies Connection To Diddy, Tells Fans To ‘Stop All The Memes’!
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The Assault Allegations
The woman, who is now 38 years old, recalled the “catastrophic event” to the outlet. According to the victim, she lived in Rochester, New York, in 2000. She said the VMAs had been “on my bucket list at 13,” adding:
“It was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ one of those things I’ve got to do.”
So, she snuck out the window of her home in order to not get caught by her parents and a friend drove her over five hours to Radio City Music Hall in New York City. However, the woman did not have a ticket to the event and had to watch the show from a jumbotron outside. Not wanting her night out to end, she started talking to limo drivers to try to get into an afterparty. She told NBC News:
“I’m trying to get in to try to stay back and get to an afterparty and get invited in and meet some celebrities.”
She claimed one limo driver she spoke to worked for Diddy and commented that she “fit what Diddy was looking for.” He then allegedly told her to come back later, and that he would take her to an afterparty. After around 20 minutes in the limon, the woman recalled in the lawsuit that she pulled up to a “large white residence with a gated U-shaped driveway” and was asked to sign a document she didn’t read. Once inside the place, she recalled to the outlet:
“I’m talking to, like, Fred Durst, Benji Madden, about his tattoo, because, you know, about his tattoo that’s ‘The Last Supper,’ because I have a religious background, so it was just something to talk about.”
The woman then accepted a drink from a waitress and “started feeling funny,” so much so that she “tried to start looking for a place to lay down.” In the lawsuit, she claimed to have found an empty room with a bed, and that’s when Diddy, JAY, and a female celebrity entered the room. The two men then allegedly raped her. She claimed:
“Jay-Z comes over, holds me down. I start trying to push away. He puts his hand over my mouth, tells me to stop it, to cut the s**t, and then he rapes me like he had me overpowered.”
Awful…
Afterward, the woman left the house and went to a gas station, where she called her father to pick her up. She shared with NBC News:
“I was upset, and the person at the gas station could tell that I was obviously upset, and she let me use the phone. I called my dad because he was the only person I trust at that time. I told him I messed up and I needed a ride home. We rode home in silence. He didn’t ask me what happened. He didn’t ask me what I did or where I was.”
What! The dad asked her nothing! Really? If your 13-year-old daughter called from a random gas station at night when she was supposed to be home, wouldn’t you be concerned and have questions? We certainly would!
The Inconsistencies
However, it turns out there are three inconsistencies with the woman’s story – starting with the claim that her father picked her up after the alleged rape! He claimed to NBC News he doesn’t recall that! Huh?! He said:
“I feel like I would remember that and I don’t…I have a lot going on but I mean, that’s something that would definitely stick in my mind.”
The victim insisted it was the truth, claiming her dad struggles to remember events from back then:
“There are a lot of things, and this is stuff that we argue about constantly, something he said or did back in New York around that time period he just doesn’t remember. It actually causes a lot of fights sometimes in the household.”
The other inconsistency? The woman claimed to have talked to Benji Madden at the afterparty, but a representative for the Good Charlotte rocker said he and his brother, Joel Madden, were on tour halfway across the country back then! Speaking to the outlet, the woman noted she knows what allegedly happened to her but recognizes she may have “made a mistake in identifying”:
“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. So I have made some mistakes. I may have made a mistake in identifying.”
And finally, we need to talk about the location. Pictures obtained and reviewed by NBC News from that night showed JAY-Z and Diddy at the Lotus Club following the award show — which doesn’t match her description. However, the woman’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, noted to the outlet she never stated the assault happened at the nightclub:
“We have attempted to confirm the correct location. We have never suggested the location was the Lotus Club. Our client has been very specific and detailed about the description of the venue she says she was taken to, and she has never stated it was the Lotus Club.”
Hmm…
While the woman knows she “made some mistakes,” she still stands by her overall allegations – pointing out that it doesn’t mean what she claimed is false. She also has no regrets about coming forward with her story, expressing:
“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.”
Diddy’s Statement
Since the interview dropped, Diddy and Jay-Z have reacted. Lawyers for the music mogul, who is currently charged with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, called the lawsuit a “money grab” in a statement to TMZ:
“Yesterday, a lawyer admitted that over 50 people falsely claimed to be victims. Today, for the second time this week, a Buzbee plaintiff has been exposed. This is the beginning of the end of the money grab.”
JAY-Z’s Statement
Meanwhile, a legal document obtained by Page Six revealed that JAY-Z’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, requested on Friday night to expedite the lawsuit’s dismissal, asking the judge to shorten the filing deadline from 21 days to one. He said in a letter filed to the New York court that the request came in the wake of “today’s stunning public disclosures and severe ongoing harm to Mr. Carter’s reputation.” Spiro added in a statement to the outlet:
“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.”
JAY-Z is also already celebrating this as a “victory,” telling Page Six:
“Today’s investigative report proves this ‘attorney’ 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. 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.”
Tony Buzbee’s Statement
Despite the pushback from Diddy and JAY-Z, Buzbee says he supports all his clients — even the Roc Nation founder’s accuser. He wrote in an email to NBC News:
“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.”
Whoa. Could the woman’s admission to the inconsistencies actually get her suit dismissed? We’ll have to see how this plays out. Watch the entire interview (below):
EXCLUSIVE: Jay-Z rape accuser comes forward to NBC News; acknowledges inconsistencies in her allegations. pic.twitter.com/tzk8qIKSFJ
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 14, 2024
What are your reactions to the latest with this lawsuit, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments!
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via Adriana M. Barraza/WENN, WENN/Avalon]
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