HOUSTON — An Alabama woman who accused Jay-Z and Diddy of raping her when she was 13 spoke to NBC News about what she calls a “catastrophic event”: a limo ride to the White House, A glass of wine left her feeling dizzy and a rap star’s sexual assault would ruin her life.
But the woman and her attorney also acknowledged some inconsistencies in her statements in response to questions from NBC News.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit against Jay-Z and Diddy, told NBC News that “I made some mistakes” when recalling that night. The woman said she generally stood by her accusations. Inconsistencies in her account of the incident, which allegedly occurred 24 years ago, do not necessarily mean the allegations are false.
Among the inconsistencies: The woman said her father picked her up after the alleged sexual assault, but he said he didn’t remember it. The woman also claims she spoke to a celebrity after the party who she said was sexually assaulted, but the celebrity said he was not in New York at the time. Photos from that night show Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, and Sean “Diddy” Combs in a different location than the woman described. Although their whereabouts throughout the night are unknown.
“This did not happen,” Carter told NBC News in a statement on Friday, “but he filed suit in court and redoubled his efforts in the media,” he added, referring to One of the woman’s attorneys, Tony Buzbee. “True justice is coming. We fight to win, not to win. This is over before it begins. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but, soon.”
Buzbee said he is continuing to review her claims.
“Jane Doe’s case was referred to our firm by another firm, which reviewed it before sending it to us,” he told NBC News in an email. “To the best of her knowledge, our client remains steadfast in her belief that what she says is true. We will continue to review her claims and gather as much corroborating data as possible. Because we subject her to rigorous interrogation, she even Agree I have never had a client suggest this before.
“No matter what,” he added, “we always do our best to review every claim, as we did in this case. It was so traumatic for her that she experienced a seizure and had to Seek medical attention.
The charges against Carter represent a dramatic shift that could tie the rap legend to conduct alleged in the civil and criminal cases against Combs, who is currently in a Brooklyn jail awaiting federal sex trafficking charges. Trial on racketeering charges.
Alex Spiro, Carter’s attorney, said: “It is shocking that the attorney not only made such a serious complaint without proper review, but also furthered this falsehood by peddling it in the media. Stories make things worse.
Combs’ attorney called the lawsuit a “shameful money grab.” Buzbee has filed more than 20 lawsuits against Combs.
The lawsuit, originally filed in October in the Southern District of New York and naming Combs as a defendant, was refiled on Sunday and named Carter as another defendant.
NBC News traveled to Houston earlier this week to interview the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, at her attorney’s office.
“You should always fight for what happened to you,” she said of why the accusations are being made public now. “You should always advocate for yourself and speak up for yourself. You should never let what other people do ruin or dictate your life. I just hope I can give others the strength to step up like I did.”
The now 38-year-old told NBC News that in 2000, when she was living in Rochester, New York, attending the VMAs was “one of the things on my bucket list when I was 13.” It was like, “Oh, my God.” Which,” one of the things I had to do. ” She said she snuck out the window to hide from her parents.
She said in the lawsuit that a friend drove her to New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. People flocked to the viewing area outside the venue, and the award ceremony was beautifully decorated. The crowd cheered when J.Lo arrived. Eminem performs on the street.
She didn’t have a ticket and was wearing a suit and said she watched some shows on the big screen outside. She also started chatting with the limo driver. “I tried to get in and go to an after-party and was invited to come and meet some celebrities,” she told NBC News.
A limo driver said he worked for Combs She “fitted what Didi was looking for” and he told her to come back later and he would take her to a party, the lawsuit says. About 20 minutes into the limo ride, she arrived at “a large white residence with a gated U-shaped driveway,” she said in the lawsuit. She said in the lawsuit that she signed a document that she did not read.
In it, she told NBC News, “I was talking to Fred Durst, Benji Madden, about his tattoo because, you know, his tattoo is ‘The Last Supper,’ and because I have a religious background, it just had something to say .
After accepting a drink from the waitress, she told NBC News: “I started feeling weird. Trying to start looking for a place to lay down.”
She said in the lawsuit that she found an empty room with a bed and that shortly after, Coombs, Carter and a woman entered the room. “You’re ready to party!” Combs said, according to the lawsuit.
She said both Combs and Carter raped her. “Jay-Z came over and held me down. I started trying to push away. He put his hand over my mouth and told me to stop and stop talking, and then he raped me, like he was holding me down, ” she said.
She then managed to escape the house and ran to a gas station, she said in the lawsuit.
“I was frustrated and the person at the gas station could tell I was obviously upset and she asked me to use the phone. I called my dad because he was the only person I trusted at the time. I told him I messed up and I needed a ride Go home,” she told NBC News. “We rode home in silence. He didn’t ask me what happened. He didn’t ask me what I had done or where I was.”
She told NBC News she never told anyone about the attack or wrote about it in her diary. “Even if someone found out, who would believe me? I mean, these are two celebrities speaking out against me,” she said.
The next few years were difficult, she said. “I became very depressed. I completely withdrew. My grades started to slip,” and she dropped out of school. She said she was homeless and suffered a head injury at one point. She and her father also said she was raped later in life.
She now has two children, a son and a daughter. She served in the Army National Guard for less than a year before retiring with the rank of private. She earned her high school diploma and “got certified in Christian counseling so I could help people who were going through what I was going through,” she said.
She also said she has a certification in applied behavior analysis so she can help people with autism, which she said she has earned. “There are so few resources for mothers who don’t have a proper income,” she said.
Reaction has been swift since the woman went public with her accusations against Carter. The rapper released a statement calling the accusations “silly” and “inherently outrageous” and harshly criticized her attorney.
There were some inconsistencies in her story about that night.
Her father told NBC News that he did not remember picking her up after the alleged attack, casting doubt on a key detail in her lawsuit.
Based on their address at the time, her father would drive more than five hours from home to pick her up.
“I thought I would remember that, but I don’t,” he said in an interview Thursday. “I have a lot to work on, but I mean, it’s definitely going to be in the back of my mind.”
The woman’s father said he only learned of the attack this week, adding that he did remember picking her up in the middle of the night. But, he said, this is a “local drive.”
When asked about her father’s account in a follow-up interview Friday, the woman said she stood by her story that he came to pick her up and that he may have remembered it incorrectly.
“There were a lot of things, and this was something we argued about often, that he just couldn’t remember things he said or did in New York during that time,” she said. “Sometimes it actually causes a lot of arguments at home.”
Regarding her father’s recollections, Buzbee told NBC News, “We agree with him that he doesn’t remember… His daughter explained that he was in a state of not remembering because of personal issues he was having at the time. We’re we’re talking about a time frame of over twenty years ago.
The woman also told NBC News she spoke with musician Benji Madden after the party.
But a representative for “Madden” confirmed that neither Benji nor his brother Joel attended the 2000 VMAs and that they were touring the Midwest at the time. (The woman did not accuse the brothers of any wrongdoing.)
“Honestly, what’s clearest is what happened to me and the line of what happened to me. Not all the faces are that clear,” the woman said in a follow-up interview Friday. “So I made some mistakes. I probably misidentified.”
The woman was also unable to provide further information about the after-party she attended.
Professional photos reviewed by NBC News show Combs and Carter among the celebrities attending the VMAs after-party at the Lotus nightclub in New York City. It’s unclear when the photos were taken or whether Combs and Carter attended any other parties.
The building where Lotus was located, now closed, did not match the description of the home described by the woman in the lawsuit and interviews.
“I didn’t know exactly where we were going or even how long it would take,” the woman said Tuesday when asked where she thought she was being taken that night. She added that she speculated in the lawsuit about the length of the trip.
“We tried to confirm the correct location,” Buzby said. “We never suggested that location was Club Lotus. Our client’s description of the location she said she was taken to was very specific and detailed, and she never said that. It’s the Lotus Club.
He added, “We’re not going to speculate on whether there was an after-party because she didn’t know that either.”
One of the allegations the woman was unable to substantiate was how she arrived in New York City that night.
One of her attorneys provided NBC News with the name and date of birth of the friend she said drove her, who was 20 years old at the time. The man appears to be dead. NBC News attempted to contact the man’s relatives but were unsuccessful.
