Jay-Z files motion for rape accuser’s identity to be made public
On December 8th, both Jay-Z and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs were named in a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York court. However, the new lawsuit, which accuses both musicians of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old, only names the plaintiff under the pseudonym of Jane Doe.
The lawsuit was initially filed in October, and only Combs was named. However, Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee recently amended it to include Shawn Carter. That said, the Brooklyn emcee recently filed a motion of his own demanding that the court require the plaintiff to reveal their identity.
Jay-Z’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, filed a motion on December 9th emphasising that the Brooklyn legend has the right to a fair trial and insisted that anonymity is not fair as it may make it easier for the plaintiff to smear Jay-Z’s reputation.
In the motion, Spiro wrote, “Fair is fair. It is not consistent with justice, fairness, or the rules governing federal proceedings for the plaintiff and her counsel to smear [Jay-Z] ‘s good name.” Spiro also claims that Jay has built an “impeccable reputation” and has never been accused of sexual misconduct in the past.
Following the news related to this counter-filing, Jay-Z admitted that he filed the lawsuit because he believed that the founder of The Buzbee Law Firm, Tony Buzbee, was only filing it because he refused to settle with the lawyer out of court. The Reasonable Doubt creator has suggested that Buzbee was asking for “extortionate” amounts and was using a lawsuit to “blackmail” him.
In a statement released by Roc Nation, Jay-Z insisted, “Make no mistake, this case is about retaliating against the rare target who would not pay.” The unnamed plaintiff is alleging that in 2000, she was driven to a VMAs afterparty hosted by Diddy, where he and Jay-Z had raped her.
In response to these allegations, Jay expressed anger and urged Buzbee to file a criminal lawsuit, stating, “These allegations are 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? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”
In a separate statement, Combs’ team addressed Buzbee, calling his suits “shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.”
Jay-Z’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, has given the judge an ultimatum; he says that if the judge doesn’t force the accuser to reveal her identity, the case should be dismissed. However, the judge is yet to respond to this request.
Meanwhile, Combs was charged by prosecutors in September with racketeering, sex trafficking and other offences and remains incarcerated at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center after he was denied bail for the third time in November. His trial is scheduled for May 5th.
For 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.