A federal judge on Thursday dealt Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter a legal defeat and blasted his attorney for wasting the court’s time by filing “combative motions.”
In a Dec. 26 ruling, Judge Analisa Torres said an Alabama woman who alleged the hip-hop mogul and Sean “Diddy” Combs raped her when she was 13-years-old can proceed anonymously with her civil lawsuit, according to court documents posted online by the New York Post.
Judge Torres wrote “the weight of the factors tips in favor of allowing Plaintiff to remain anonymous, at least for this stage of the litigation.”
Still, Torres said she could reverse her decision on the now 38-year-old woman’s complaint at some point in the future.
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The judge also chastised Jay-Z’s high profile attorney, Alex Spiro.
“Carter’s lawyer’s relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks is inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client,” Torres stated in a five-page filing.
The anonymous “Jane Doe” accuser filed her civil lawsuit in October, initially alleging Diddy and an unnamed male celebrity allegedly took turns raping her at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty in 2000, while an unnamed female celebrity watched.
The accuser’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, later filed an amended complaint on Dec. 8, alleging Jay-Z was the male celebrity.
Both Jay-Z and Diddy vehemently denied the accuser’s allegations.
“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?,” Jay-Z said in a strongly-worded Dec. 8 statement.
Diddy’s legal team stated, “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.”
Days later on Dec. 13, NBC aired an interview with the accuser and noted that there were “inconsistencies” in her account of the alleged rape.
The woman, who told the interviewer she has autism and at some point suffered a head injury, admitted that she was fuzzy on some details from that night in 2000.
“I have made some mistakes,” she said about her recollection of the alleged assault.
Days later, attorney Spiro held a roundtable with select reporters in New York.
He insisted the alleged rape “never happened,” according to The Hollywood Reporter, which was present at Spiro’s news conference.
“These are not minor inconsistencies… If you look at the time, it’s not possible this could happen,” Spiro stated.
In a filing on Dec. 18, Jay-Z’s legal team asked the court to dismiss the rapper from the lawsuit, citing the woman’s inconsistencies.
Buzbee, who has battled Spiro in the court of public opinion, maintains that the woman is telling the truth.
Diddy was arrested on Sept. 16 in New York City on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He is currently jailed in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, after being denied bail three times. His trial is scheduled to begin on May 5, 2025.
