Jay-Z calls for rape case against him to be dismissed after accuser acknowledges inconsistencies
A woman who has accused rappers Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her when she was 13 after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000, has acknowledged inconsistencies in her story.
The woman, who is identified only as “Jane Doe” (a US legal term to say that she is anonymous), told Sky’s US partner NBC News, “I have made some mistakes”, but says she stands by her allegations overall.
Jay-Z – whose real name is Shawn Carter – and Combs both deny the allegations.
Inconsistencies include the woman alleging she was picked up by her father following the alleged assault, but he says he doesn’t recall making the journey, which would have taken over five hours.
She also named a celebrity she said she spoke to during the party, but that celebrity has said they were not at the party and was touring at the time.
Professional images reviewed by NBC News show Combs and Carter at a different location than the one the woman described. It is not clear what time those images were taken, or if Combs and Carter attended any other after-parties.
The inconsistencies in her account of the incident – alleged to have happened 24 years ago – do not necessarily mean the allegations are false.
A friend who she says drove her from her home in Rochester, New York, to Radio City Music Hall in New York City, is since understood to have died.
The federal lawsuit has been filed by Texas-based lawyer Tony Buzbee, who says he is representing 120 accusers in cases against Combs.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was named alongside Carter in the lawsuit. Pic: AP
Responding to latest developments, Carter and his lawyer Alex Spiro shared statements on X, calling it a “false complaint” and a “frivolous case”.
Carter wrote: “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 realise it yet, but, soon.”
Carter has previously called for the woman’s identity to be revealed, or for the case to be dismissed.
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What you need to know about Jay-Z allegations
Mr Spiro said: “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.”
Carter is one of the world’s most successful rappers, rising to fame in the late 1990s, now with 24 Grammys to his name.
Last week he appeared on the red carpet alongside his wife Beyonce and their daughter Blue Ivy Carter, 12, a day after the allegations against him surfaced.
Jay-Z and Beyonce at the premiere of Mufasa: The Lion King. on Monday. Pic: Reuters
Lawyer for the accuser, Mr Buzbee, said in an email to NBC that her claims were continuing to be vetted and corroborating data was being collected.
He went on: “Because we have interrogated her intensely, she has even agreed to submit to a polygraph… This has been extremely distressing for her, to the point she has experienced seizures and had to seek medical treatment due to the stress.”
Mr Buzbee has previously hit out at “foolish” claims he’s attempting to blackmail anyone, and said he intends to address all of the claims in court.
Read more:
What is Sean Combs accused of?
Jay-Z and Beyonce show united front after rape claim
Combs is a three-time Grammy winner, and one of the most influential hip-hop producers of the past three decades.
His attorneys have called the suit a “shameful money grab”.
Meanwhile, Combs has dropped his bail appeal following three failed attempts, and will remain in jail in Brooklyn until his trial on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges in May.
Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.
Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.
The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.
In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”
Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”
Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP
People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters
A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.
“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.
A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters
A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.
Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
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Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP
Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”
The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.
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