Renowned rapper JAY-Z, through his attorney Alex Spiro, has denied allegations of raping a 13-year-old girl with Diddy following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.
Spiro presented a comprehensive catalog of evidence refuting the lawsuit during a press conference at Roc Nation’s New York City headquarters on Tuesday, December 17.
Spiro dissected the anonymous woman’s story, highlighting numerous inconsistencies and contradictions.
He showcased photographs of JAY-Z attending a different event, contradicting the accuser’s claim. Furthermore, Spiro asserted that none of Diddy’s properties at the time matched the description provided in the lawsuit. “There is no such location,” he emphasized. “We don’t know whether they created a location in order to try to get jurisdiction in New York so they could bring this case in New York or that they just didn’t do their homework.”
Spiro also pointed out discrepancies in the woman’s timeline of events, arguing that it would have been impossible for her to have been driven to the afterparty, raped, fled to a nearby gas station, and picked up by her father (who was five hours away) “shortly before dawn,” as she claimed in her suit. “These are not minor inconsistencies… If you look at the time, it’s not possible this could happen,” Spiro stated, confidently predicting that the case “will be dismissed. If not, it will crumble.”
Additionally, Spiro disputed the woman’s claim that she watched the VMAs on a jumbotron outside Radio City Music Hall, as there was no jumbotron present that year. He further noted that she would not have been able to reach Diddy’s limousine due to the heavily blocked-off streets resulting from Eminem’s infamous VMAs performance.
Despite a series of videos and pictures over the last two decades depicting a close bond between the two, Spiro categorically denied JAY-Z’s close relationship with Diddy.
“Mr. Carter has nothing to do with Mr. Combs’ case or Mr. Combs,” Spiro asserted. “They knew each other professionally for a number of years. At music awards, they support each other. They go to the NBA All-Star Game, they support each other. That’s just how professions work.”
Spiro continued, “There is no closer association between any of them — that’s also a matter of fiction. That’s all that there is. He doesn’t know anything about the charges or allegations against him. He has nothing to do with that case, and there’s nothing more to say.”
Regarding JAY-Z’s response to the lawsuit, Spiro stated, “He’s upset that somebody would be allowed to do this, would be allowed to make a mockery of the system like this. He’s upset that this distracts and dissuades real victims from coming forward. He’s upset that his kids and family have to deal with this. And he should be upset.”
In response, the woman’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, told Complex, “Courts resolve factual disputes. They aren’t resolved in press conferences.”
Spiro’s presentation comes shortly after the woman herself admitted in an interview with NBC News that she made “some mistakes” in her recollections of the night of the alleged assault.
JAY-Z responded by issuing a statement that read: “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.”
