Jay-Z Accuser Says She ‘Made Some Mistakes’ In Her Allegations, Stands by Her Statements Overall
The woman accusing Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her when she was 13 years old has addressed some inconsistencies in her report.
Speaking with NBC News, the woman, whose identity remains protected as Jane Doe, said “not all the faces are clear” in her recollection of what happened to her over 20 years ago. She told NBC, “I have made some mistakes. I may have made a mistake in identifying.”
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NBC quotes Jane Doe and her father, whom they interviewed to fact-check the claim that he picked her up after the alleged assault. Jane Doe says he did, while the father refutes those claims. The report says he doesn’t remember driving the more than five hours it would’ve required to get from their home to the location of the alleged attack.
“I feel like I would remember that, and I don’t,” he said. “I have a lot going on, but I mean, that’s something that would definitely stick in my mind.”
Regarding her father’s comments, Jane Doe’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, is quoted telling NBC News, “We agree he states he doesn’t remember. His daughter explains that he was in no state to remember during that point in time due to personal issues he was having then. We are talking about a time frame more than 20 years ago.”
The woman also claims she spoke to musician Benji Madden at the 2000s VMAs after-party where she said she was sexually assaulted, but NBC confirmed that neither Benji nor his brother Joel attended the 2000 VMAs.
“What is the clearest is what happened to me and route that I took to what happened to me,” the woman said. Among the other inconsistencies addressed are the location of the assault, although the exact whereabouts for the entire evening remain unclear.
In turn, Jay-Z has released his own statement and an additional comment from his lawyer.
“This ‘attorney’ Buzbee filed a false complaint against me in the pursuit of money and fame,” wrote Jay-Z. “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 realize it yet, but, soon.”
Jay-Z’s lawyer Alex Spiro shared his statement via Roc Nation. “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,” said Spiro. “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.”
Buzbee told NBC his client is in “extreme distress,” and has been experiencing seizures due to the stress. “Jane Doe’s case was referred to our firm by another, who vetted it prior to sending it to us,” he said. “Our client remains fiercely adamant that what she has stated is true, to the best of her memory. 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.”
“In any event,” he concluded, “we always do our best to vet each claim made, just as we did in this case.”
Representatives for Buzbee Law Firm did not respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
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