What Happened With Jay-Z & Diddy? Their Accuser Acknowledges She Made ‘Some Mistakes’ in Her Rape Allegations

September 16, 2024: Diddy is arrested

On September 16, 2024, Diddy was arrested in Manhattan, New York. Federal authorities are charging him with racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, according to an unsealed indictment against him by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. He was denied bail in a New York courtroom after pleading “not guilty.”

On March 25, 2024, Diddy’s homes were raided by federal agents after allegations were made against the rapper for sex trafficking. A spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations told TMZ: “Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners. We will provide further information as it becomes available.”

October 2024: Tony Buzbee files lawsuits on behalf of Diddy’s victims

A Texas law firm said it was set to represent more than 120 alleged victims of sexual assault and abuse claims against Combs. “The Buzbee Law Firm has been associated by the Ava Law Group to act as Lead Counsel to pursue claims on behalf of more than fifty individuals who suffered sexual assault and abuse at the hands of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and his cohorts,” attorney Tony Buzbee posted via Instagram.

“This group of brave individuals includes both men and women; many were minors when the abuse occurred. Some of these brave individuals reported the incidents to the police, others did not. Each individual story is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. The acts complained of occurred at hotels, private homes, and also at the infamous PDiddy ‘Freak Off’ parties.”

“I expect many other individuals will be implicated. We expect to have a press conference early next week where some of these stories can be told as the nation learns more and grapples with the potential scope of this scandal,” the post concluded.

On Tuesday, October 1, 2024, Buzzbee stated in a press conference that he’s had more than 3,000 individuals come forward to his office with accusations against Combs. According to CNN, twenty-five victims were minors at the time of the alleged acts, and a few victims have spoken with the FBI. Buzbee also alleged that many big celebrity names were associated with Diddy’s abuse. “It’s a long list already, but because of the nature of this case, we are going to make sure damn sure we are right before we do that,” Buzbee continued. “These names will shock you.”

In a lawsuit filed in a New York federal court, the lawsuit claims that Jane Doe, when she was 13 years old, was dropped off by a friend at New York’s Radio City Music Hall to try to attend the MTV Video Music Awards around September 7, 2000. The plaintiff approached limousine drivers in an attempt to sneak in to the after party and struck a conversation with one who claimed he worked for Diddy. According to the lawsuit, the driver allegedly told her that Diddy “liked younger girls and said she ‘fit what Diddy was looking for.’” The driver took her to the white house and took a drink where she suddenly did not feel well.

When she was lying down, she claimed that Diddy came into the room and raped her. “Soon after, Combs entered the room, along with defendant Carter and a female celebrity,” reads the lawsuit. Doe claims that Diddy “threw” her toward a wall and, after she got up, then “threw” her onto a bed. In the refiled lawsuit, she alleges that Jay-Z removed her clothes, held her down, and raped her while the others watched. When Diddy forced her to perform oral sex, she hit him in the neck and fled the scene “holding her dress in front of her like a towel” and “[running] around the residence until she found the front door.” 

December 8, 2024: Tony Buzbee refiles a case and list Jay-Z as a defendant

A lawsuit filed by Tony Buzbee was originally filed in October in the Southern District of New York, and Combs was listed as the defendant. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, was added on December 8, 2024, and is the first big-name celebrity to be listed in a Diddy lawsuit. The two are accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000.

December 8, 2024: Jay-Z responds to lawsuit

In a statement written through his company Roc Nation’s X account, Jay-Z denied the accusations of sexual abuse, calling the allegations “idiotic.”

“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?” Carter said in a statement. “These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”

“My only heartbreak is for my family,” he wrote. “My wife 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.”

He concluded the statement, “You have made a terrible judgement thinking that all ‘celebrities are the same. I’m not from your world. I’m a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. WE don’t play this games. We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for your personal gain. Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, we believe your idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable. I look forward to showing you how different I am.

December 9, 2024: Diddy’s lawyers respond to the Jay-Z rape accusations

In a statement to TMZ, Diddy’s lawyers responded to the claims. “This amended complaint and the recent extortion lawsuit against Mr. Buzbee exposes his barrage of lawsuits against Mr. Combs for what they 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.  As his legal team has said before, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process.  In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor.”

December 9, 2024: Tony Buzbee responds to Jay-Z’s statement

Tony Buzzbee posted a statement on X regarding Jay-Z’s statement. “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,” the lawyer wrote. “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. 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.”

December 13, 2024: Jane Doe interviews with NBC & acknowledges inconsistencies: “I have made some mistakes”

NBC interviewed the woman following the public lawsuit. “You should always fight for what happened to you,” she told NBC News about why she is going public with her accusations now. “You should always advocate for yourself and be a voice for yourself. You should never let what somebody else did ruin or run your life. I just hope I can give others the strength to come forward like I came forward.”

She recalled what happened on the night of the 2000 VMAs. “You are ready to party!” Combs said, according to the suit. She said, “Jay-Z comes over, holds me down. I start trying to push away. He puts his hand over my mouth, tells me to stop it, to cut the shit, and then he rapes me like he had me overpowered.”

The woman later revealed the aftermath where she escaped to a nearby gas station. “I was upset, and the person at the gas station could tell that I was obviously upset, and she let me use the phone. I called my dad because he was the only person I trust at that time. I told him I messed up and I needed 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 did or where I was.”

However, her father remembered that he didn’t pick her up from New York City. “I feel like I would remember that, and I don’t,” he said in an interview, saying that the drive was local. “I have a lot going on, but I mean, that’s something that would definitely stick in my mind.” The woman also claimed she talked to musician Benji Madden at the after-party. However reps of the musician said he didn’t appear at the 2000 VMAs and was touring at the time.

Lawyer Tony Buzzbee and Jane Doe acknowledged the inconsistencies. “We agree he states he doesn’t remember. … 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 twenty years ago.”

“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,” the woman said in the Friday follow-up interview. “So I have made some mistakes. I may have made a mistake in identifying.”

Jay-Z and his lawyers responded to the report. In a letter obtained by Billboard, it reads”Given today’s revelations, Mr. Buzbee almost certainly failed to undertake a reasonable inquiry into the facts before filing the complaint. He should never have brought the claims.”

The letter concludes by noting that Jay “intends to file immediately a motion to strike the first amended complaint.”

Jay-Z later wrote in a statement “Today’s investigative report proves this ‘attorney’ Buzbee filed a false complaint against me in the pursuit of money and fame. This incident didn’t happen and yet he filed it in court and doubled down in the press. True justice is coming. We fight FROM victory, not FOR victory. This was over before it began. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but, soon.”