A lawyer for rapper Jay-Z has asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit accusing him, along with Sean “Diddy” Combs, of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000, after inconsistencies emerged in her allegation.
An Alabama woman, named in the legal action by the pseudonym Jane Doe, has accused the musicians of drugging and attacking her at a house party following the MTV Video Music Awards.
She claimed she spoke with one celebrity at the party, though his representative said he was on tour at the time. Her father told NBC News he cannot recall driving five hours to pick her up after the alleged assault, as she says.
In an interview with NBC, the woman acknowledged making “some mistakes” in her accusation but said she stood by her claim.
Rape support providers say it is common for victims of such assaults to misremember some details, especially if they have been allegedly drugged.
The litigation is part of dozens of sexual assault lawsuits filed against Mr Combs, who is in custody awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges in New York. He was denied bail a third-time last month. Mr Combs denies all the allegations.
Jay-Z’s attorney, Alex Spiro, asked the court to dismiss Jane Doe’s case, saying in a statement to the BBC: “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.”
The rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, issued a statement to the BBC saying the lawyer, Tony Buzbee, had filed the legal action “in pursuit of money and fame”.
“This incident didn’t happen and yet he filed it in court and doubled down in the press,” his statement said.
“True Justice is coming. We fight for victory, not FOR victory. This was over before it began. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but, soon.”
A lawyer for Mr Combs said in a statement sent to the BBC: “Today, for the second time this week, a Buzbee plaintiff has been exposed. This is the beginning of the end of this shameful money grab.”
Mr Buzbee said his firm was continuing to vet his client’s claims.
The woman says in the lawsuit a waitress offered her a drink at the party that made her feel “woozy”, so she went into a room to lie down.
Soon afterwards, the legal action says, Mr Combs and Mr Carter entered the room with a female celebrity, described as Celebrity B.
The legal action says Mr Carter held her down and raped her, before Mr Combs did the same, all while Celebrity B watched.
However, photos from that evening show Jay-Z and Mr Combs at a different location to the one described by the accuser. It is not clear if their whereabouts for the entire evening have been accounted for.
The woman claimed in her allegation that she had spoken with musicians Benji and Joel Madden, who she said were among a number of celebrities at the house party. She does not accuse them of any wrongdoing.
But a representative for the Maddens told NBC the brothers were on tour in the Midwest during the VMAs that year.
The woman’s father told NBC he doesn’t remember driving more than five hours to pick up his daughter after her alleged ordeal.
“I feel like I would remember that, and I don’t,” he said.
The woman’s lawyer, Mr Buzbee, told NBC that his client stands by her claim.
“Our client remains fiercely adamant that what she has stated is true, to the best of her memory,” he said.
“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.”
The woman, who is now 38 and a mother of two, told NBC in the interview from Houston, Texas: “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.”
Erinn Robinson, director of media relations for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), said “Trauma like rape can have both short- and long-term effects on the brain that influence decision-making and memory.”
“Recall of memories may be fragmented, and details may not be recalled in the right order,” she told the BBC.
Ms Robinson said these effects are common and said police departments are trained to deal with such cases in order to reduce the likelihood of allegations being dismissed because the victim’s memory seems disjointed or inconsistent.
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