Rapper Jay-Z has been accused of raping a 13-year-old girl alongside Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in 2000.
The allegations were made in a civil lawsuit. The complainant alleges she was raped by Jay-Z first, while Diddy watched, and then by Combs. It’s alleged an unnamed female celebrity watched it happen.
In a statement via his company Roc Nation, Jay-Z denied the allegation. Combs has also denied the allegation.
Allegation
This lawsuit was initially filed in October in New York with Combs as the sole defendant. It has since been re-filed to include Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter.
The incident is alleged to have occurred at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party in 2000.
Combs has been named in several criminal and civil sexual abuse lawsuits this year. He has been held in a New York jail after he was arrested on sex trafficking charges in September. Combs has denied all allegations against him.
Jay-Z’s response
Jay-Z has denied the allegation, describing a legal letter from the complainant’s lawyer as a “blackmail attempt”.
He said the allegation is “so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one”.
He added: “My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife [Beyoncé] and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people.”
Lawyer
The complainant’s lawyer is named Tony Buzbee, who is representing a number of Combs’ alleged victims.
In response to Jay-Z’s statement, Buzbee said: “I won’t be bullied or intimidated. People will see through this effort to discredit me and my clients and the truth will be revealed. I also won’t allow anyone to scare my clients into silence.”
Civil vs. criminal
This lawsuit is civil, not criminal.
That means it involves a dispute between two parties, with one party seeking some form of damages.
In comparison, in criminal cases, the state brings charges against a party for violation of a criminal law.
In a civil case, the party bringing the case has to prove the allegations ‘on the balance of probabilities’, which is lower than the criminal standard of ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’.
A prison sentence is also not an option in civil proceedings, however it can pave the way for criminal charges to be laid in a separate trial.
