“This latest case, like the others, is frivolous, laughable and ridiculous and will be dismissed along like the others," attorney Tony Buzbee tells PEOPLE

Jay-Z’s venture capital firm, Marcy Venture Partners, has merged with another Black-owned investment firm, Pendulum Holdings’ investment arm Pendulum Opportunities, to form MarcyPen Capital Partners, a MarcyPen spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch. The newly formed MarcyPen Capital Partners has $900 million in assets under management, according to PitchBook.  MarcyPen’s spokesperson declined to comment further on the […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The woman who accused Jay-Z and Diddy in a lawsuit of raping her when she was 13 years old is standing by her allegations of the "catastrophic event"

• The RIAA gives diamond certifications to songs that have gone platinum 10 times.
• More than 150 songs have been certified diamond and 33 artists have multiple songs on the list.
• Post Malone has the most with nine, followed by Rihanna and The Weeknd with seven apiece.

The official diamond award was unveiled by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1999. In the years since, it has been bestowed sparingly — if a song has moved at least 10 million equivalent units by combining sales and streaming numbers, and if an artist or label requests certification.

Over 150 songs have been certified diamond and 33 artists have multiple songs on the list. They're all listed below.

"From our standpoint, our relationship is not changing with them, including our preparations for the next Super Bowl,” Goodell said

Jay-Z is a self-made billionaire who has built his career as both a musician and an entrepreneur

Barry Jenkins talked about working with the 12-year-old while at the L.A. premiere of the film on Dec. 9

The hip-hop stars collaborated on several songs together in the 1990s

Despite the fact that they have large age gaps, these celebrity couples have been together for over a decade

• Jay-Z was named in an amended complaint to a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, filed in October.
• The filing accuses Jay-Z and Combs of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000.
• Experts said that Jay-Z's response could have been stronger if it included an explicit denial of the claims.

Jay-Z's response to the rape accusations against him is missing something, according to one crisis-PR expert.

The "99 Problems" singer — whose real name is Shawn Carter — was accused in a civil lawsuit Sunday of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs in 2000.

Carter responded to the "heinous" allegations hours later in a statement posted on his company Roc Nation's X account, calling the accuser's attorney, Tony Buzzbee, "deplorable" and saying he engaged in "a blackmail attempt."

"Whoever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree?" the statement reads, in part. "These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case."

Still, the statement doesn't include "a flat unmistakable denial that he'd ever engaged in behavior like that in this case or otherwise," said Evan Nierman, the CEO of crisis-PR firm Red Banyan.

"I think Jay-Z was strong in pointing out the heinous nature of the crimes and that he views them as unconscionable," Nierman said. "But I would've liked to have seen a little bit more of a flat denial."

The allegations against Carter stem from one of the slew of civil sexual assault lawsuits filed against Combs, who's in a Brooklyn jail while awaiting trial on separate criminal sex trafficking charges. Combs has denied the accusations against him.

In the original lawsuit, filed in October, the anonymous Jane Doe plaintiff from Alabama accused Combs of raping her at a party in New York City as two other unnamed celebrities watched. The stars were only identified in the civil lawsuit as "Celebrity A" and "Celebrity B."

The updated lawsuit filed Sunday identifies Carter as "Celebrity A."

The other celebrity was described as a "female" but has otherwise not been identified in court documents.

Attorneys for Carter and Combs did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. A day after Carter's statement was published, his lawyer, Alex Spiro, more forcefully denied the allegations in a court filing.

"For the avoidance of doubt, Mr. Carter is entirely innocent," he wrote. "This is a shakedown."

A PR expert says Jay-Z's statement had 'bravado'

In his social media statement, Carter took aim at Buzbee, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiff, and said that his lawyer "received a blackmail attempt" to pressure him into settling out of court. He has separately filed an extortion lawsuit against Buzzbee.

Buzbee told Business Insider that he sent a letter to Carter requesting that Carter and the plaintiff mediate before Sunday's filing.

The amended complaint said Carter responded to the letter by filing a lawsuit and "orchestrating a conspiracy of harassment, bullying, and intimidation" to silence the accuser from naming him.

Camron Dowlatshahi, a partner at Los Angeles-based Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP, told Business Insider that the back-and-forth negotiations referenced by Carter are typical, "especially in a case involving a high-profile individual."

What caught peoples' attention was the more casual tone of Jay-Z's statement, which includes informally styled words in all caps and a sentence that ends with two exclamation points.

"He infused it with the kind of bravado that he's known for," Nierman told Business Insider. By reiterating his rough upbringing — "I'm a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn" — Nierman added that he's "saying, 'You misjudged me by trying to play with me the way you deal with other people.'"

Despite the informal tone, Dowlatshahi said it's highly likely that the statement was crafted with lawyers and publicists.

"I thought it was unorthodox but important to come from him," Dowlatshahi told Business Insider. "It personalizes everything that he's going through instead of being defensive."

Carter's statement said his accuser's lawyer should "file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!!" Still, only prosecutors representing the government, not individual accusers, can file criminal indictments.

Damian Williams, the US Attorney overseeing the criminal case against Combs in Manhattan, told Business Insider in October that the "investigation is very active and ongoing" when asked whether additional people would be charged.

Nierman and Dowlatshahi said it was nonetheless smart for Carter to point out that he was not charged with a crime.

"Something involving essentially a rape of a 13-year-old is not something that you have an afterthought about and amend your complaint about," Dowlatshahi said. "It's something that's at the forefront of a case, and typically a criminal case."

Experts don't think the allegations will tarnish Jay-Z's reputation if it's an isolated incident

Nierman and Dowlatshahi think Jay-Z is too rich and powerful for his reputation to ultimately be damaged by the suit.

He's "too big to cancel, and his brand is too strong to be destroyed by a civil lawsuit," Nierman said.

Dowlatshahi agreed. "Right now, this is a pretty contained isolated thing."

If more allegations against Carter surface or he faces criminal charges, indictments, or arrests, it could be career-ending.

"This is a civil lawsuit being filed by an attorney who's been very aggressive about his demand letters and going after celebs in the interest of securing financial settlements for his client," Nierman said. "So I don't see this as creating a permanent stain on Jay-Z's brand."

Nierman and Dowlatshahi said that Carter's mention of the allegations' impact on conversations with his kids, whom he shares with Beyoncé, also humanized him outside his celebrity persona.

Nierman said that Carter made his response "personal" by directly questioning Buzbee's integrity and values. "When you come out of the gates with such a strong statement like what Jay-Z made, and you make it so personal, both in his defense of himself and his attack on his accuser, he's already set," Nierman said. "It's going to be very hard to come back from that. So I expect him to be extremely aggressive in defending his reputation."

On Monday, Carter's lawyer filed a flurry of motions in federal court to dismiss the case or disclose the accuser's identity in the civil lawsuit.

"These claims are not about justice for victims. Nor are they about giving victims of sexual violence a voice," Carter's attorney Alex Spiro wrote in a filing. "Instead, they are merely the next chapter in Attorney Buzbee's sprawling extortion saga — a saga whose aim is base and measured in dollars."

Spiro didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Dowlatshahi said this is a common next step as Carter's team explores every possible option to defeat the claims. In Nierman's view, the aggressive strategy is working in the court of public opinion.

"Jay-Z is not going to be defined by these allegations," Nierman said. "I don't think that this is even going to be a footnote to his obituary."

The Knowles-Carter family attended the 'Mufasa: The Lion King' premiere in Los Angeles in support of Beyoncé and Blue Ivy, who both have roles in the film

Knowles and Jay-Z posed for photos at the premiere of the new Disney film alongside Beyoncé and Blue Ivy

Jay-Z has been named in a lawsuit originally filed in October claiming that he and Sean "Diddy" Combs raped a 13-year-old girl in 2000

• Rapper Jay-Z has been accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old with Sean "Diddy" Combs.
• 50 Cent appeared to react to the news by posting a photo from his appearance in HBO's "Entourage."
• Here's what his joke about the Super Bowl means.

50 Cent reacted to the accusations that Jay-Z sexually assaulted a 13-year-old with Sean "Diddy" Combs by posting a joke about the Super Bowl.

On Sunday, Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) was named in a civil suit that accused him of raping a 13-year-old girl with Combs in 2000 after the MTV Video Music Awards in New York.

Both rappers denied the allegations, and Carter called the allegations "heinous" in a statement posted on the X account of his company Roc Nation.

50 Cent (aka Curtis Jackson) was quick to react with a jab at Combs following their 20-year feud.

Jackson posted a photo on Instagram on Sunday that appeared to be a reference to the situation. The picture was of 50 Cent's appearance in "Entourage" season six, when he pulls up next to Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and insults his car before driving off in a scene that became an instant meme.

In the caption 50 Cent wrote: "Ok I don't know what's going on, but are we gonna still have the Super Bowl. I'm just asking for a friend!"

The Super Bowl reference reflects the role Roc Nation often plays in organizing the halftime show at the yearly NFL championship and implies that the allegations could affect the arrangement.

In October, Bloomberg reported that Roc Nation had extended its partnership with the NFL, and that Carter will continue to produce the halftime show.

50 Cent's post is his latest joke about allegations relating to Combs. The "Power" actor first started taunting Combs about the allegations in November 2023 when Cassie Ventura, Combs' ex-girlfriend, filed a lawsuit against him for rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking.

Since then, 50 Cent confirmed that he's producing a documentary about the sexual assault allegations against Combs, with profits going to victims of sexual assault.

Beyoncé and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter star in the new Disney prequel ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’

Beyoncé and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter star in the new Disney prequel ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’

In a recently amended civil lawsuit, Jay-Z is accused of sexually assaulting a minor in 2000

The rapper was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 in an amended civil suit filed in New York

• A new legal filing accuses Jay-Z of drugging and raping a 13-year-old in 2000.
• The rapper strongly denied the accusations, which come as part of a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs.
• Read hip-hop billionaire Jay-Z's full statement below.

Shawn Carter, better known as the rapper Jay-Z, has responded to a civil lawsuit that accuses him and Sean "Diddy" Combs of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.

The accusation, which comes from an unnamed plaintiff, is included in an amended complaint to a lawsuit originally filed in October that accuses the two hip-hop moguls of assaulting the girl at an after-party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Prior to the amended complaint, Carter was referred to as a "Celebrity A."

The amended complaint marks the first time that Carter has been accused in a lawsuit of any wrongdoing in conjunction with Combs.

Carter strongly denied the accusations in a statement on his company Roc Nation's X account.

The complaint comes as Combs remains behind bars, awaiting trial on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He also faces more than 30 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct.

He has denied any wrongdoing, and a lawyer for Combs has said he will not be making public statements on the case.

The plaintiff's lawyer, Tony Buzbee, who has filed more than a dozen lawsuits against Combs on behalf of unnamed plaintiffs, told Business Insider that he had attempted mediation with Carter prior to publishing his name.

Buzbee told Business Insider that before the filing of the amended complaint, he had sent a letter to Carter requesting that Carter and the plaintiff engage in mediation.

Carter's alleged response is detailed in the amended complaint.

"Jay-Z responded to said letter by not only filing an utterly frivolous lawsuit, but by also orchestrating a conspiracy of harassment, bullying and intimidation against Plaintiff's lawyers, their families, employees and former associates in an attempt to silence Plaintiff from naming Jay-Z herein," the complaint says. "Plaintiff chose to file this amendment as a result of the egregious conduct perpetuated by Carter."

"The pleading speaks for itself. This is a very serious matter that will be litigated in court," Buzbee told BI.

Read Carter's full statement below:

My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a "lawyer" named Tony Buzbee.

What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle.

No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!

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?

These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.

This lawyer, who I have done a bit of research on, seems to have a pattern of these type of theatrics!

I have no idea how you have come to be such a deplorable human Mr. Buzbee, but I promise you I have seen your kind many times over. I'm more than prepared to deal with your type. You claim to be a marine?! Marines are known for their valor, you have neither honor nor dignity.

My only heartbreak is for my family. 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. I mourn yet another loss of innocence. Children should not have to endure such at their young age. It is unfair to have to try to understand inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirit.

My heart and support goes out to true victims in the world, who have to watch how their life story is dressed in costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser in a cheap suit.

You have made a terrible error in 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 these types of games.

We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain.

Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the 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 just how different I am.

In response to Carter's denial, Buzbee told BI that the plaintiff never demanded money from Carter.

• Jay-Z was named in a new filing stemming from a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs.
• The alleged incident occurred in 2000 following MTV's Video Music Awards.
• The victim, who is not named, said she was underage when she was drugged and raped by both men.

Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has been accused of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl in a new court filing stemming from a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs.

The amended complaint, filed Sunday, says Combs and Carter assaulted the girl at an after-party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.

"Another celebrity stood by and watched as Combs and Carter took turns assaulting the minor," the amended complaint, which modifies an original complaint filed in October against Combs, reads. "Many others were present at the afterparty, but did nothing to stop the assault."

Carter was identified in the original complaint as "Celebrity A," the suit reads.

Before the filing of the amended complaint, Tony Buzbee, an attorney for the plaintiff — who is unidentified in the filing — had sent a letter to Carter requesting he and the plaintiff engage in mediation, Buzbee told Business Insider.

"Jay-Z responded to said letter by not only filing an utterly frivolous lawsuit, but by also orchestrating a conspiracy of harassment, bullying and intimidation against Plaintiff's lawyers, their families, employees and former associates in an attempt to silence Plaintiff from naming Jay-Z herein," the complaint reads.

"This effort was meant to scare Plaintiff and to discredit her counsel. That effort failed. Indeed, Plaintiff chose to file this amendment as a result of the egregious conduct perpetuated by Carter."

Buzbee told BI, "The pleading speaks for itself. This is a very serious matter that will be litigated in court."

Carter has been a longtime friend of Combs. Combs faces a series of sexual assault allegations, civil lawsuits, and federal sex trafficking charges and has previously vehemently denied the allegations against him.

On Sunday, after the allegations became public, Carter, through the X account of Roc Nation, his entertainment company, said in a statement that his lawyer was sent "blackmail" to pressure him into settling out of court for an undisclosed amount. Carter said the move had the "opposite effect" and instead made him want to expose his accusor "in a VERY public fashion."

"So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!" Carter's statement reads. "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? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case."

Buzbee told Business Insider that the victim never demanded a penny from Carter.

"Instead, she only sought a confidential mediation," Buzbee said. "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."

The two hip-hop moguls, both 55, have created business empires, including Carter's label Roc-A-Fella Records and the streaming service Tidal, Combs' label Bad Boy Records, and partnerships with Cîroc vodka and DeLeón tequila.

Carter has an approximate net worth of $2.5 billion, Business Insider previously reported. Combs' business partnerships have dried up after the allegations against him, with Forbes estimating his net worth now to be about $90 million.

Attorneys for Carter and Combs did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.