Lawsuit Accuses Jay-Z of Raping Girl, 13, in 2000

Rapper Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, was accused in a lawsuit on Sunday of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 allegedly along with Sean "Diddy" Combs, NBC News reported.

The incident took place, the anonymous accuser referred to as "Jane Doe" said, at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party.

Jay-Z is the latest celebrity to be wrapped in a scandal involving Diddy, who was sued in federal court in October. The case was refiled Sunday to include Carter.

Tony Buzbee, the Texas-based attorney who filed the lawsuit, posted his comment to X Sunday evening: "Regarding the Jay Z case and his efforts to silence my clients: Mr. Carter previously denied being the one who sued me and my firm. He filed his frivolous case under a pseudonym.

"What he fails to say in his recent statement is my firm sent his lawyer a demand letter on behalf of an alleged victim and that victim never demanded a penny from him. Instead, she only sought a confidential mediation.

"Since I sent the letter on her behalf, Mr. Carter has not only sued me, but he has tried to bully and harass me and this plaintiff. His conduct has had the opposite impact," he wrote.

"She is emboldened. I'm very proud of her resolve. As far as the allegations in the complaint filed, we will let the filing speak for itself and will litigate the facts in court, not in the media.

In a statement to NBC News, Carter said: "These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?

"These alleged victims," he added, "would deserve real justice if that were the case."

Combs' legal counsel said in a statement that the lawsuit and others filed by Buzbee accusing Combs of sexual assault and rape are "shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs."

In October, Buzbee said he is representing 120 accusers who have come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Combs, the hip-hop mogul who is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Buzbee described the victims as 60 males and 60 females, and that 25 were minors at the time of the alleged misconduct. One individual alleged he was 9 years old when he was abused, Buzbee said. The allegations cover a period from 1991 to this year.

This is the first suit Buzbee has filed that names another high-profile defendant.

"As his legal team has said before, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process," the statement read. "In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor."

Federal prosecutors in New York criminally charged Combs in September with racketeering, sex trafficking, and other offenses, and he is behind bars at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center having been repeatedly denied bail. His trial is scheduled for May 5.

Last month, prosecutors said they expect to bring more charges against Combs in a superseding indictment.

According to NBC News, the lawsuit refiled Sunday claims that in 2000, Combs and Carter raped Doe, then 13, at a house party following the MTV Video Music Awards in New York.

Prior to the incident, the plaintiff approached a limousine driver at the VMAs at Radio City Music Hall trying to gain access to the show or an after-party. The driver claimed to work for Combs and told her she "fit what Diddy was looking for."

Twenty minutes later, according to the suit, the driver transported the girl to a white house with a U-shaped driveway. To enter the party, the girl had to sign a document, which she believed to be a nondisclosure agreement.

The plaintiff signed the document but was not given a copy. The lawsuit reads that the party was filled with celebrities smoking cannabis and doing cocaine.

She was offered a drink that made her feel "woozy, lightheaded and felt [like] she needed to lie down," according to the lawsuit. Shortly after she went to a room to rest, the lawsuit claims, Carter and Combs entered the room, and Combs exclaimed, "You are ready to party!"

The suit alleges Carter raped her raped her while Combs and an unnamed female celebrity watched and that Combs sexually assaulted her. Afterward, the girl quickly gathered her clothes, left the scene, and proceeded to a gas station, where she called her father.

The plaintiff is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit filed under New York's Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.