A live performance from Jay-Z, who’s urging the court to toss the sexual assault lawsuit filed against him. Photo Credit: Mike Barry
Weeks after being accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old, Jay-Z is urging the court to toss the lawsuit, citing inconsistencies in the alleged victim’s testimony.
Jay-Z and his legal team just recently described the dismissal push in a letter to the presiding judge, pointing mainly to comments made by the still-anonymous accuser during an NBC News interview.
Most are already aware of the shocking allegations against the 55-year-old, who promptly denied the civil claims and levied an extortion lawsuit against the attorney, Tony Buzbee, representing the alleged victim.
But to recap, Buzbee’s clients include a total of over 200 individuals accusing Diddy of sexual assault. Closer to the top of December, one of these plaintiffs amended her October lawsuit to add Jay-Z (identified as “Celebrity A” in the initial filing) as a defendant.
The Roc Nation founder, the updated complaint alleged, had raped the now-38-year-old victim during a VMAs afterparty in 2000. As mentioned, Jay-Z didn’t hesitate to refute the allegations, and this pushback has ramped up in the wake of the above-highlighted NBC News interview.
That interview, Jay-Z and his counsel wrote in their letter to the judge, exposed the accuser’s “allegations for what they are: a sham.”
Before diving into the remainder of the letter, which isn’t exactly impartial, it’s worth noting that the woman stood by her allegations when discussing the matter with NBC. However, the relevant piece shed light on several alleged inconsistencies.
The accuser’s father didn’t recall picking up the alleged victim after the alleged sexual assault, to name one alleged contradiction, and a non-party celebrity allegedly denied having spoken with the plaintiff at (or even attended) the relevant afterparty.
Also in question are details pertaining to where the alleged sexual assault occurred. Photos reportedly captured Jay-Z and Diddy attending an afterparty at a since-closed club on the night of the alleged crime. However, that establishment was allegedly different than the “large white residence with a gated U-shaped driveway” described in the suit.
Buzbee countered by maintaining that his client had “never suggested the location [where the alleged sexual assault occurred] was the” shuttered club described in the report. And the plaintiff chalked up her father’s account (or lack thereof) to memory issues.
(Returning to the actual complaint, the plaintiff mentioned speaking to the limo driver who allegedly transported her to the afterparty and two men who asked her to sign what “she now believes to have been a non-disclosure agreement.” Meanwhile, an as-yet-unidentified female celebrity purportedly watched the alleged sexual assault take place.)
In any event, Jay-Z believes the alleged inconsistencies are grounds to toss the case against him.
“Basic facts in her narrative – the who, what, when, and where – are wrong,” Jay-Z and his attorneys wrote. “She claims her father picked her up after the assault, her own father denies that ever happened. … The heinous allegations against Mr. Carter are patently false.
“Allowing these claims to remain pending even a moment longer not only harms Mr. Carter, his family, his businesses, his employees, and his legacy—it also impairs the integrity of the judicial system, thwarts the pursuit of justice, and silences the voices of true victims,” Jay-Z added for good measure, emphasizing plans to seek a motion to strike as well.
Time will tell whether Jay-Z, who still has the support of the NFL, successfully has the case tossed. Separately, the 24-time Grammy winner is grappling with renewed paternity charges from his alleged “illegitimate son.”
