topnaijanews Stay informed with the latest Nigerian news at your fingertips
Rapper, JAY-Z through his lawyer, has denied being close to Diddy and presented a catalog of evidence refuting a lawsuit that accuses the rap legend of r@ping a 13-year-old girl with Diddy following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.
Speaking at Roc Nation’s New York City headquarters on Tuesday, December 17, in front of reporters, Alex Spiro poked holes in the anonymous woman’s story in an attempt to prove that the alleged rape “never happened.”
During his presentation, Spiro showed photos of Jay at a different event to the one his accuser said he was at and claimed that none of the properties owned by Diddy at the time matched that of the description in the lawsuit.
“There is no such location,” he said. “We don’t know whether they created a location in order to try to get jurisdiction in New York so they could bring this case in New York or that they just didn’t do their homework.”
The attorney also highlighted several inconsistencies in the woman’s timeline of events, arguing it would have been impossible for her to have been driven to the afterparty, raped, fled to a nearby gas station and picked up by her father (who was five hours away) “shortly before dawn,” as she claimed in her suit.
“These are not minor inconsistencies … If you look at the time, it’s not possible this could happen,” Spiro said, adding that he expects the case “to be dismissed. If not, it will crumble.”
Spiro also disputed the woman’s claim that she watched the VMAs on a jumbotron outside Radio City Music Hall, where the awards show was held, as there was not a jumbotron that year.
He further pointed out that she would not have been able to reach Diddy’s limousine as the streets had been heavily blocked off due to Eminem‘s now-famous VMAs performance.
Spiro also denied JAY-Z’s close relationship with Diddy, who is facing a large number of other sexual assault lawsuits as well as federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
His denial comes despite series of videos and pictures over the last two decades that show both men to have had a special closeness/bond.
“Mr. Carter has nothing to do with Mr. Combs’ case or Mr. Combs,” he said. “They knew each other professionally for a number of years. At music awards, they support each other. 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. He has nothing to do with that case and there’s nothing more to say.”
As for how his client is handling the lawsuit, Spiro said: “He’s upset that somebody would be allowed to do this, would be allowed to make a mockery of the system like this. He’s upset that this distracts and dissuades real victims from coming forward. He’s upset that his kids and family have to deal with this. And he should be upset.”
In response, the woman’s lawyer Tony Buzbee told Complex: “Courts resolve factual disputes. They aren’t resolved in press conferences.”
Spiro’s presentation comes shortly after the woman herself admitted in an interview with NBC News that she made “some mistakes” in her recollections of the night of the alleged assault.
JAY-Z responded by issuing a statement that said:
“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.”
Spiro really had a whole entire PowerPoint presentation yesterday 😭. Why not wait for court? He is definitely the PR lawyer. His specialty is to litigate in the media first. But if a Tory supporter show a piece of a court transcript, we get called the worst things ever 😒 pic.twitter.com/RF6EmkLoxL
— Only_1_Fee (@RealFeeDee) December 17, 2024