JAY-Z & Diddy Accuser Speaks Out, Admits Inconsistencies in Her Story

The woman who filed a lawsuit accusing JAY-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her at a 2000 MTV Video Music Awards after-party when she was 13 years old is speaking to the media for the first time, in an interview with NBC News. 

The alleged victim remained anonymous as she shared her account of what happened that night, acknowledging inconsistencies in her story.

Meanwhile, JAY-Z and Diddy have vehemently denied any wrongdoing in the case.

The accuser, now a 38-year-old mom living in Alabama, tells NBC, “You should always fight for what happened to you. You should always advocate for yourself and be a voice for yourself. You should never let what somebody else did ruin or run your life. I just hope I can give others the strength to come forward like I came forward.”

She claims the night of the party she snuck out of her home in Rochester, New York, and traveled to NYC with a friend in hopes of getting into the VMAs or an after-party.

The woman said she watched parts of the show on the jumbotron outside, adding, “I’m trying to get in to try to stay back and get to an after-party and get invited in and meet some celebrities.”

In the suit, obtained by NBC News, she said a limo driver told her she “fit what Diddy was looking for.” He allegedly later took her to a “large white residence with a gated U-shaped driveway.” She added that she signed a document at one point, but didn’t read it.

Now, she tells NBC News of the party, “I’m talking to, like, Fred Durst, Benji Madden, about his tattoo, because, you know, about his tattoo that’s ‘The Last Supper,’ because I have a religious background, so it was just something to talk about.”

The woman recalled accepting a beverage from a waitress, adding, “I started feeling funny. Tried to start looking for a place to lay down.”

According to the suit, that’s when she found an empty room with a bed. The document states that Combs came in and allegedly told her, “You are ready to party!” 

She went on, “JAY-Z comes over, holds me down. I start trying to push away. He puts his hand over my mouth, tells me to stop it, to cut the shit, and then he rapes me, like, he had me overpowered.”

The woman said she fled to a gas station afterward. In the suit, she claimed, “I was upset, and the person at the gas station could tell that I was obviously upset, and she let me use the phone. I called my dad because he was the only person I trust at that time. I told him I messed up and I needed a ride home. We rode home in silence. He didn’t ask me what happened. He didn’t ask me what I did or where I was.”

In her interview with NBC News, the accuser explained why she never told anyone or wrote about it in a diary, “Even if somebody found out, who was gonna believe me? I mean, it was the word of two celebrities against mine.”

She added that life was hard after the alleged rape. “I got severely depressed. I withdrew completely,” the woman said. “My grades started slipping.” She dropped out of school, was homeless at one point, suffered a head injury and said she was raped again at a later point. 

There are, however, inconsistencies in her story.

While speaking to NBC News, her father said he doesn’t recall picking her up that night, which would have been a five-hour drive. “I feel like I would remember that, and I don’t,” he said. “I have a lot going on, but I mean, that’s something that would definitely stick in my mind.”

When asked about her father’s statement, the woman told NBC, “There are a lot of things, and this is stuff that we argue about constantly, something he said or did back in New York around that time period he just doesn’t remember. It actually causes a lot of fights sometimes in the household.”

Her attorney Tony Buzbee also told NBC News, “We agree [her father] states he doesn’t remember... His daughter explains that he was in no state to remember during that point in time due to personal issues he was having then. We are talking about a time frame more than 20 years ago.”

NBC News also asked about her claims that Benji Madden was at the party, as it was later confirmed that Benji and his brother Joel — who have not been accused of any wrongdoing — did not attend the VMAs that year, and were on tour in the Midwest. 

She responded, “Honestly, what is the clearest is what happened to me and [the] route that I took to what happened to me. Not all of the faces there are as clear.  So, I have made some mistakes. I may have made a mistake in identifying.”

NBC News also points out that photos prove JAY-Z and Diddy attended a VMA after-party at Lotus nightclub in 2000, but the location does not match the woman’s description of the house where the alleged assault took place. So far, there is no evidence of the men attending a second party.

“I didn’t know exactly where we were going or even how long it took,” she told NBC News.

Buzbee added, “We have attempted to confirm the correct location. We have never suggested the location was the Lotus Club. Our client has been very specific and detailed about the description of the venue she says she was taken to, and she has never stated it was the Lotus Club.”

He continued, “We won’t speculate on whether there was an after-after party, because again, she doesn’t know that.”

In addition, NBC News could not corroborate the woman’s story about how a friend drove her to the city that night, as that person has reportedly passed away.

JAY-Z released a statement to NBC News on Friday, insisting, “This incident didn’t happen… and yet [Tony Buzbee] 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. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but, soon.”

The rapper’s attorney Alex Spiro also told the news outlet, “It is stunning that a lawyer would not only file such a serious complaint without proper vetting, but would make things worse by further peddling this false story in the press. We are asking the Court to dismiss this frivolous case today, and will take up the matter of additional discipline for Mr. Buzbee and all the lawyers that filed the complaint.”

Buzbee told NBC News via email, in part, “Our client remains fiercely adamant that what she has stated is true, to the best of her memory. We will continue to vet her claims and collect corroborating data to the extent it exists. Because we have interrogated her intensely, she has even agreed to submit to a polygraph. I’ve never had a client suggest that before.”

Combs’ legal team has called the lawsuit a “shameful money grab.” 

Diddy is currently in jail in Brooklyn after pleading not guilty to charges of racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He’s also facing an onslaught of lawsuits from alleged victims. He has denied all the charges and accusations against him and heads to trial on May 5, 2025.