Jay-Z's lawyer says accuser's rape claim is 'provably demonstrably false': Reports
Jay-Z's attorney claims the rape accusations against the rap mogul are "provably demonstrably false" and that multiple people are willing to come forward to debunk the allegations, according to multiple reports.
Alex Spiro spoke at Roc Nation's New York headquarters Monday to present evidence that he explained to various news outlets − including The Hollywood Reporter, Us Weekly and The New York Times − would paint a picture of the story told by Jane Doe and prove it "never happened."
"This is not for truth and justice," Spiro said of the accusations brought against Jay-Z, per The Hollywood Reporter. "This is for money."
Jay-Z was accused on Dec. 8 in a freshly amended lawsuit of sexually assaulting a teenage girl alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs at a 2000 MTV Video Music Awards after-party. The lawsuit, filed originally in October on behalf of an unnamed Alabama woman, alleges Diddy and the Roc Nation founder drugged and raped her while another unnamed female celebrity watched.
Paste BN reached out to representatives for Jay-Z and Roc Nation for comment.
The rapper has vehemently denied the accusations and filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Dec. 9, calling the legal action a "blackmail attempt" by lawyer Tony Buzbee, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Jane Doe.
Jay-Z's lawyer calls out inconsistencies in accuser's rape allegations
In an NBC News interview published Friday, the woman said she had "made some mistakes" in her recollection of the night. She added that she stands by her allegations, but the accuser's father pushed back on her earlier claims that he picked her up from the after-party.
"These are not minor consistencies," Spiro said Monday to reporters, per The Hollywood Reporter. "If you look at the time, it's not possible this could happen."
"I want to make sure this is clear: When people make up an account, whether intentionally or their mind is blank or something, they can always get that core part of the story right," Spiro added. "They can just keep repeating it over and over and over again; this is what happened, that core part. But they're always going to mess up the details. When something isn't real, when something doesn't happen, you're going to get the details wrong because you weren’t really there. (This was) not possible. It's because this never happened."
In addition to his statements, The Hollywood Reporter said Spiro played a six-minute clip of the NBC News report of Jane Doe's interview for reporters and said her lawyer, Buzbee, "created this narrative." Spiro expects "this case to be dismissed. If not, it will crumble."
Jay-Z's lawyer says rapper is 'upset that somebody would be allowed to do this'
Spiro also told reporters the rapper was "upset that somebody would be allowed to do this."
"He's upset that this distracts and dissuades real victims from coming forward," the attorney added, The Hollywood Reporter reported. "He's upset that his kids and family have to deal with this. And he should be upset."
According to Us Weekly, Spiro also claims "dozens and dozens of people" are willing to come forward to debunk the allegations against Jay-Z.
The woman also claimed she spoke with an unnamed celebrity at the after-party, but that celebrity alleges they were not in New York at the time of the allegations, according to NBC. Photos also show both rappers at a different location than the one laid out in Jane Doe's claims.
Buzbee, who is representing a slew of other victims against Combs, told Us Weekly in a statement Monday that "this client was signed up and referred to our firm by another law firm. That law firm drafted the initial complaint."
"However, four individuals at our firm have also interviewed the client and checked details after accepting the referral. A background check was run on the client," Buzbee told Us Weekly. "We also engaged a seasoned investigator to vet some details she disclosed to us. Those results were consistent with what the client had told us."
Buzbee also revealed to Us Weekly that his firm had sent Jay-Z and Spiro an offer to "sit down to discuss the claims confidentially" but "rather than accepting that offer, Mr. Spiro chose to file a public lawsuit accusing me personally of extortion. He made that claim knowing that we made no demand at all for money and out it in the public sphere."
The claims against Jay-Z come amid an avalanche of legal woes for Combs, who was arrested in September on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. The embattled hip-hop mogul has been held in custody at the Special Housing Unit in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center ahead of his upcoming May 5 trial.
Jay-Z has 'nothing to do' with Sean 'Diddy' Combs' case, lawyer says
Spiro was also asked Monday by the press about Jay-Z's relationship with Combs.
"Mr. Carter has nothing to do with Mr. Combs' case or Mr. Combs. They knew each other professionally for a number of years. Just like in all professions, people know each other. At music awards, they support each other," Spiro said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "They go to the NBA All-Star Game, they support each other. That's just how professions work. 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," Spiro concluded. "He has nothing to do with that case and there’s nothing more to say."
Jay-Z's lawyers ask court to strike accuser's complaint
On Wednesday, Jay-Z's team followed up with a court filing that took shots at Buzbee and his client's credibility. Citing the NBC News reporting, they claimed: "That interview exposed that the claim against Mr. Carter is meritless." The mogul's lawyers also said Buzbee neglected to properly vet Jane Doe's allegations before filing the suit.
In a memorandum of law filed in New York federal court, his lawyers asked the judge to dismiss Jay-Z from the accuser's amended complaint and strike it in its entirety. "Those allegations are baseless and fatally contradicted by Plaintiff’s and her father’s statements to NBC," the memorandum reads. "The salacious allegations against Mr. Carter serve no purpose other than to harass him and to pressure him to settle a lawsuit based on false claims."
The filing also sought to preserve evidence in the case because, they claimed, "There is accordingly a significant risk that Buzbee will seek to destroy documents or other evidence that would demonstrate that he knew or should have known that the allegations in the complaint were false."
Paste BN has reached out to Buzbee's office for comment.
Also on Wednesday, Buzbee Law Firm filed a suit against several people affiliated with Jay-Z – Roc Nation, lawyer Marcy Croft and law firm Quinn Emanuel – accusing them of violating various Texas state laws by allegedly offering a former client money in exchange for suing Buzbee's firm.
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or visit hotline.rainn.org/online and receive confidential support.
Contributing: Edward Segarra, Brendan Morrow, Anna Kaufman and KiMi Robinson Paste BN