In a statement to NBC news, the entertainer said, “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?”
The anonymous accuser, identified only as “Jane Doe,” said the assault happened after she was driven to an MTV Video Music Awards after-party back in 2000. She was 13-years-old at the time. The allegations have been tied into litigation brought against fellow music executive, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. The federal lawsuit was originally filed in October in the Southern District of New York, listing Combs as a defendant. It was refiled Sunday to include Carter.
The lawsuit was filed by Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee. Jay Z has alleged that Mt. Buzbee is engaged in unprofessional behavior. Buzbee has filed several lawsuits in recent months, all have withheld their complainants’ names. The lawsuits accuse Combs of assault and rape, however this is the first lawsuit in which another high-profile defendant has been named.
Carter called the allegations “idiotic” in a lengthy statement Sunday evening and alleged that Buzbee was engaged in unprofessional behavior.
STATEMENT BY COMBS’ ATTORNEY.
In a statement, legal representatives for Combs called the suits “shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.”
“As his legal team has said before, 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,” the statement read.
Prosecutors meanwhile, say are in the process of potentially bringing more charges against Combs in a superseding indictment.
Before the lawsuit was refiled Sunday, “Carter received a letter from Plaintiff’s counsel requesting a mediation to resolve this matter,” Buzbee wrote in the suit. In response to the letter, which NBC News has seen, Carter filed his own lawsuit against the accuser’s attorneys, Buzbee wrote in the suit.
“You have made a terrible error in judgement thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same,” Carter expressed in his statement Sunday. “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.”.
SHAWN CARTER’S STATEMENT
