HOUSTON — An Alabama woman who accused Jay-Z and Diddy of raping her when she was 13 spoke to NBC News about what she calls a “catastrophic event”: a limo ride to the White House, A glass of wine left her feeling dizzy and a rap star’s sexual assault would ruin her life.
But the woman and her attorney also acknowledged some inconsistencies in her statements in response to questions from NBC News.
In a lawsuit filed against Jay-Z and Diddy, the woman, Jane Doe, told NBC News that “I made some mistakes” when recalling that night. The woman said she generally stood by her accusations. Inconsistencies in her account of the incident, which allegedly occurred 24 years ago, do not necessarily mean the allegations are false.
From left: Jay-Z and Sean “Puffy” Combs on November 7, 2000.
Among the inconsistencies: The woman said her father picked her up after the alleged sexual assault, but he said he didn’t remember it. The woman also claims she spoke to a celebrity after the party who she said was sexually assaulted, but the celebrity said he was not in New York at the time. Photos from that night show Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, and Sean “Diddy” Combs in a different location than the woman described. Although their whereabouts throughout the night are unknown.
“This did not happen,” Carter told NBC News in a statement on Friday, “but he filed the lawsuit in court and redoubled his efforts in the media,” he added, referring to the One of the woman’s attorneys, Tony Buzbee. “True justice is coming. We fight to win, not to win. This is over before it even begins. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but it will soon .
Buzbee said he is continuing to review her claims.
“Jane Doe’s case was referred to our firm by another firm, which reviewed it before sending it to us,” he told NBC News in an email. “As best as she can remember, our client remains steadfast in her belief that what she says is true. We will continue to review her claims and gather the corroborating data that is available. As a result of the rigorous interrogation we subjected her to, she even agreed to undergo Polygraph. I have never had a client suggest this before.
“No matter what,” he added, “we always try to review every claim, as we did in this case. It was so traumatic for her that she had seizures and was paralyzed by the stress. Had to seek treatment.
The charges against Carter represent a dramatic about-face that could tie the rap legend to conduct alleged in the civil and criminal cases against Combs, who is currently in a Brooklyn jail awaiting federal sex trafficking charges. Trial on racketeering charges.
Alex Spiro, Carter’s attorney, said: “It is shocking that the attorney not only made such a serious complaint without proper review, but also furthered this falsehood by peddling it in the media. story, making matters worse. We are asking the court today to dismiss this frivolous case and to impose additional disciplinary action against Mr. Buzbee and all of the attorneys who filed the complaint.
Combs’ attorney called the lawsuit a “shameful money grab.” Buzbee has filed more than 20 lawsuits against Combs.
The lawsuit, originally filed in October in the Southern District of New York and naming Combs as a defendant, was refiled on Sunday and named Carter as another defendant.
NBC News traveled to Houston earlier this week to interview the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, at her attorney’s office.
“You should always fight for what happened to you,” she said of why the accusations are being made public now. “You should always advocate for yourself and speak up for yourself. You should never let what others do ruin or dominate your life. I just hope I can give others the strength to stand up like I did.
The now 38-year-old told NBC News that in 2000, when she was living in Rochester, N.Y., attending the VMAs was “one of my bucket lists when I was 13.” It was like, “Oh, my God.” One of those things I had to do. She said she snuck out the window to hide from her parents.
She said in the lawsuit that a friend drove her to New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. People flocked to the viewing area outside the venue, and the award ceremony was beautifully decorated. The crowd cheered when J.Lo arrived. Eminem performs on the street.
She didn’t have a ticket and was wearing a suit and said she watched some shows on the big screen outside. She also started chatting with the limo driver. “I wanted to go in and have an after-party and get invited and meet some celebrities,” she told NBC News.
A limo driver said he worked for Combs and that she “fit what Diddy was looking for,” and he told her to come back later and took her to an after-party, the lawsuit said. About 20 minutes into the limo ride, she arrived at “a large white residence with a gated U-shaped driveway,” she said in the lawsuit. She said in the lawsuit that she signed a document that she did not read.
Inside, she told NBC News, “I was talking to Fred Durst, Benji Madden, etc. about his tattoos because, you know, his tattoo was ‘The Last Supper,’ and because I have a religious background, it was just something to talk about. matter.
After accepting a drink from the waitress, she told NBC News: “I started feeling funny. Trying to start looking for a place to lay down.
She said in the lawsuit that she found an empty room with a bed and that shortly after, Coombs, Carter and a woman entered the room. “You’re ready to party!” Combs said, according to the lawsuit.
She said both Combs and Carter raped her. “Jay-Z came over and held me down. I started trying to push away. He put his hand over my mouth and told me to stop doing this, stop shitting, and then he raped me, like he It overwhelmed me,” she said.
She then managed to escape the house and ran to a gas station, she said in the lawsuit.
“I was frustrated and the person at the gas station could tell I was obviously upset and she asked me to use the phone. I called my dad because he was the only person I trusted at the time. I told him I messed up and I needed to Get a ride home,” she told NBC News. “We rode home in silence. He didn’t ask me what happened. He didn’t ask me what I had done or where I was.
She told NBC News she never told anyone about the attack or wrote about it in her diary. “Even if someone knew, who would believe me? I mean, these are two celebrities speaking out against me,” she said.
The next few years were difficult, she said. “I had severe depression. I completely quit. My grades started to slip,” and she dropped out. She said she was homeless and suffered a head injury at one point. She and her father also said she was raped later in life.
She now has two children, a son and a daughter. She served in the Army National Guard for less than a year before retiring with the rank of private. She earned her high school diploma and “got certified in Christian counseling so I could help people who were going through what I was going through,” she said.
She also said she has a certification in applied behavior analysis so she can help people with autism, which she said she has earned. “There are so few resources for mothers who don’t have a proper income,” she said.
Reaction has been swift since the woman went public with her accusations against Carter. The rapper released a statement calling the accusations “silly” and “inherently outrageous” and harshly criticized her attorney.
There were some inconsistencies in her story about that night.
Her father told NBC News that he did not remember picking her up after the alleged attack, casting doubt on a key detail in her lawsuit.
Based on their address at the time, her father would drive more than five hours from home to pick her up.
“I thought I would remember that, but I didn’t,” he said in an interview Thursday. “I have a lot to work on, but I mean, it’s definitely going to be in the back of my mind.”
The woman’s father said he only learned of the attack this week, adding that he did remember picking her up in the middle of the night. But, he said, this is a “local drive.”
When asked about her father’s account in a follow-up interview Friday, the woman said she stood by her story that he came to pick her up and that he may have remembered it incorrectly.
“There were a lot of things, and this was something we argued about often, that he couldn’t remember things he said or did in New York during that time,” she said. “Sometimes it actually causes a lot of arguments at home.”
Regarding her father’s recollections, Buzbee told NBC News, “We agree with him that he doesn’t remember. … His daughter explained that he was in a state where he didn’t remember because of personal issues he was having at the time. We Talking about a time frame of over twenty years ago.
The woman also told NBC News she spoke with musician Benji Madden after the party.
But a representative for “Madden” confirmed that neither Benji nor his brother Joel attended the 2000 VMAs and that they were touring the Midwest at the time. (The woman did not accuse the brothers of any wrongdoing.)
“Honestly, the clearest thing is what happened to me [the] The line of what I went through. Not all the faces are that clear,” the woman said in a follow-up interview on Friday. “So I made some mistakes. I probably admitted them.
The woman was also unable to provide further information about the after-party she attended.
Professional photos reviewed by NBC News show Combs and Carter among the celebrities attending the VMAs after-party at New York City’s Lotus nightclub. It’s unclear when the photos were taken or whether Combs and Carter attended any other parties.
The building where Lotus was located, now closed, did not match the description of the home described by the woman in the lawsuit and interviews.
“I didn’t know exactly where we were going or even how long it would take,” the woman said Tuesday when asked where she thought she was being taken that night. She added that she speculated in the lawsuit about the length of the trip.
“We have tried to confirm the correct location. We have never suggested that the location was the Lotus Club,” Buzby said. “Our client’s description of the location she said she was taken to was very specific and detailed, and she never said That’s Club Lotus.
He added, “We’re not going to speculate on whether there was an after-party because she didn’t know that either.”
One of the allegations the woman was unable to substantiate was how she arrived in New York City that night.
One of her attorneys provided NBC News with the name and date of birth of the friend she said drove her, who was 20 at the time. The man appears to be dead. NBC News attempted to contact the man’s relatives but were unsuccessful.
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com
