Image courtesy of www.edition.cnn.com
Source: www.edition.cnn.com
A woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Sean “Diddy” Combs has amended her lawsuit to include allegations that she was also assaulted by Jay-Z at the same party.
The lawsuit was initially filed against Combs in October, but on Sunday the woman added Shawn Carter, the rapper and businessman known as Jay-Z, as a defendant in the civil lawsuit.
Carter is the first celebrity to be accused of sexual assault in connection to Combs.
In a statement addressed to CNN, Carter called the allegations “so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?”
Combs was indicted in September on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and prostitution related charges. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and has denied all wrongdoing in roughly 30 civil lawsuits that have been filed against him.
The woman, who is identified as a Jane Doe, says she was 13 years old at the time she was allegedly assaulted by Combs and Carter at an after party following the Video Music Awards in 2000. The woman alleges she began to feel woozy after consuming a drink at the party and wandered into a nearby bedroom. The woman alleges Carter raped her first, followed by Combs. The woman says she hit Combs and ran out of the party, according to the amended lawsuit.
Carter was identified in the initial lawsuit as Celebrity A.
News of the lawsuit was first reported by NBC.
According to the lawsuit, Doe’s attorneys reached out to Carter to request “a mediation to resolve this matter.”
“Upon present information and belief, Jay-Z responded to said letter by not only filing an utterly frivolous lawsuit, but by also orchestrating a conspiracy of harassment, bullying and intimidation against Plaintiff’s lawyers, their families, employees and former associates in an attempt to silence Plaintiff from naming Jay-Z herein. This effort was meant to scare Plaintiff and to discredit her counsel. That effort failed. Indeed, Plaintiff chose to file this amendment as a result of the egregious conduct perpetuated by Carter,” according to the lawsuit.
In his response sent to CNN on Sunday, which was addressed to Doe’s attorney Tony Buzbee, Carter called the mediation request a “blackmail attempt.” Carter also said this lawyer, “who I have done a bit of research on, seems to have a pattern of these type of theatrics!”
In a statement from Houston-based Buzbee, he wrote, “The pleading speaks for itself. This is a very serious matter that will be litigated in court.”
Carter added in his statement that his “only heartbreak” is for his family: “My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people. I mourn yet another loss of innocence. Children should not have to endure such at their young age.”
CNN has also reached out to Jay-Z’s wife Beyoncé Knowles for comment.
CNN reported in November that an anonymous male celebrity filed a lawsuit against the Texas attorney representing the Doe, alleging he was the victim of an extortion scheme.
The celebrity accused Buzbee and his firm of “shamelessly attempting to extort exorbitant sums from him or else publicly file wildly false horrific allegations against him.”
Attorneys for the unnamed celebrity claimed further that Buzbee had “threatened to unleash entirely fabricated and salacious allegations of sexual assault” that included “multiple instances of rape of a minor, both male and female” if their client “refuses to comply with their demands.”
Buzbee denied the extortion claims against him, in an Instagram post in which he wrote that his firm “won’t allow the powerful and their high-dollar lawyers to intimidate or silence sexual assault survivors,” and in a statement to CNN.
“If you are trying to hide your identity and you claim you did nothing wrong, doesn’t seem very smart to take this approach,” Buzbee told CNN in an email at the time. “We will address it in due course.”
“I have confidence that with full public disclosure all of this will sort itself out,” Buzbee wrote.
On Sunday, Buzbee responded on social media to Carter’s statement, saying that the alleged victim “never demanded a penny from him,” claiming they only sought confidential mediation. Buzbee added, “She is emboldened. I’m very proud of her resolve.”
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