The woman who accused Jay-Z of raping her along with Sean “Diddy” Combs when she was 13 has come forward and acknowledged inconsistencies in her story.
The 38-year-old, identified only in her lawsuit as Jane Doe, maintains the rape occurred in 2000 at an after-party for the MTV Music Video Awards, but admitted to NBC News that she’s “made some mistakes” in recalling the night in question.
Doe, who now lives in Alabama, says she was living in Rochester at the time of the alleged assault. She recalls she snuck out a window and got a friend to drive her to New York City, in hopes of attending the VMAs at Radio City Music Hall.
Though she didn’t have a ticket to the awards show, she says she was able to get into an after-party after a limo driver outside the venue told her she “fit was Diddy was looking for.”
Once at the party — held, she says, at a “large white residence with a gated U-shaped driveway” — a drink she was given allegedly made her feel “funny.” She claims she found a bedroom to lie down, only to be raped there by Diddy and Jay-Z.
“Jay-Z comes over, holds me down,” she reportedly said in her lawsuit. “I start trying to push away. He puts his hand over my mouth, tells me to stop it, to cut the s–t, and then he rapes me like he had me overpowered.”
After the alleged assault, Doe says she managed to flee the home and ran to a gas station, where she called her father to pick her up. But her dad told NBC News he doesn’t remember any of the 11-hour roundtrip drive that his daughter insists did happen.
“We agree he states he doesn’t remember,” Doe’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, told the outlet. “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.”
Neither Buzbee nor NBC News has been able to confirm the exact location of the after-party Doe says she attended. Both Jay-Z and Diddy were photographed that night at a party at the since-closed Lotus nightclub, but the house Doe described does not fit the description of the building in which Lotus was located.
“We have never suggested the location [of the assault] was the Lotus club,” Buzbee said. “We won’t speculate on whether there was an after-after party, because again, she doesn’t know that.”
It’s unclear whether the rappers attended any other parties that night.
Doe’s story of being taken to New York City could also not be corroborated by the friend she says drove her, as that person appears to have since died. NBC News was unable to reach their relatives.
Another inconsistency lies in Doe’s recollection of who she spoke to at the after-party. She tells NBC News she chatted with Benji Madden, of Good Charlotte fame, though neither he nor his twin brother, Joel, were in New York at the time. Their rep confirmed to the outlet they were touring in the Midwest.
Benji Madden, Joel Madden
Pizzello/Invision/AP Benji Madden (L) and twin brother Joel Madden of the band Good Charlotte. (Pizzello/Invision/AP)
“Honestly, what is the clearest is what happened to me and [the] route that I took to what happened to me. Not all of the faces there are as clear,” Doe says. “So I have made some mistakes. I may have made a mistake in identifying.”
Still, she stands by her allegations of rape.
Doe’s lawsuit was initially filed against Combs in October, and accused an unidentified celebrity of also being involved. The suit was refiled on Sunday to name Jay-Z, who promptly denied the “heinous” allegations.
In light of the Doe’s inconsistencies, Jay-Z’s attorney is asking the court to dismiss the “frivolous case” and discipline Doe’s legal team for filing “such a serious complaint without proper vetting.”
Buzbee insists the case was vetted by another firm which then referred it to him. He says his team “will continue to vet” Doe’s claims.
Buzbee is currently representing over 100 Diddy accusers and has filed more than 20 lawsuits against him thus far.
