CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses allegations of rape.
Beyoncé is reportedly sticking by her husband Jay-Z amidst allegations that he raped a 13-year-old girl at a party with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in 2000. Both Combs and Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, have denied the allegations.
On Tuesday (local time) Beyoncé, 43, and Jay-Z, 55, attended the premiere of Mufasa: The Lion King. They attended the premiere alongside Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles, and their eldest daughter Blue Ivy, 12, who made her film debut as the voice of Princess Kiara.
According to an insider source, the family’s united appearance at the event is indicative of Beyoncé’s choice to stand by her husband amidst the recent lawsuit.
“She’s sticking by Jay, as evidenced by last night’s family outing,” the insider told Page Six.
This was backed up by a second source, who claimed that the former Destiny’s Child member “has no intention of leaving Jay-Z” because she “wholeheartedly believes him”.
“[The Carters are] a team and will face this situation together,” the source said, noting that Beyoncé will be “supporting him throughout”.
Jay-Z found himself included in a civil lawsuit on Sunday. When the lawsuit was originally filed, it only listed Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs as the defendant. However, this week the lawsuit was refiled to include the “Drunk In Love” rapper in which the Jane Doe behind the lawsuit claimed that both artists raped her after an MTV Music Awards afterparty in 2000.
In response, Jay-Z shared an explosive statement on his business account Roc Nation in which he slammed the allegations, and accused Texas-based lawyer Tony Buzbee — who has filed multiple lawsuits against Combs — of filing the lawsuit as a “blackmail attempt”.
“My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a ‘lawyer’ named Tony Buzbee,” he began.
“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.”
You can read the full statement below.
However, Buzbee claims that his client never set out to receive money from filing civil litigation aginst Jay-Z or Combs.
“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,” Buzbee wrote on X.
“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.”
Jay-Z has since lodged court documents to request that the case against him be dismissed and that the name of his accuser be made public. Whereas, Buzbee alleged that he and his family are being targeted in “a coordinated effort” to silence him since he began representing over 120 alleged victims of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
“Despite a coordinated and aggressive effort that has included harassing my kids, contacting my clients and former clients to encourage them to sue me… I’m still THAT guy,” he wrote on Instagram.
Jay-Z has not commented on Buzbee’s Instagram post.
