By Gareth Vipers

Hip-hop superstar and billionaire entrepreneur Jay-Z was accused of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl with Sean 'Diddy' Combs in a civil lawsuit filed Sunday.

The allegations against Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, relate to the long list of legal claims against Combs, who faces federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges plus numerous civil cases and accusations of sexual misconduct.

One of the suits, filed in October, accuses Combs of raping a teenage girl alongside an anonymous celebrity, referred to as "Celebrity A," at an afterparty following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City. That suit was amended Sunday, naming Carter as the celebrity involved.

The 21-page complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, claims that an unnamed female celebrity stood by and watched as Combs and Carter took turns assaulting the minor.

Carter denied the allegations laid out in the civil suit in a statement posted to the Instagram of his Roc Nation entertainment company Sunday, and called on his accuser to file a criminal complaint.

The accuser had visited Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan in the hope of gaining entry to the VMAs being hosted there. After failing to get past security, she spoke to several limousine drivers waiting outside. One driver, the complaint claims, said he worked for Combs and invited her to his afterparty. Upon arriving at the party, she was asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement before entering, her lawyer Tony Buzbee said in the complaint.

The accuser believes she was drugged before the assault, which took place in a private room near the main party, according to the complaint.

Combs has faced a raft of similar civil lawsuits claiming sexual assault and drugging, in some cases involving minors.

In September, the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office charged Combs with operating a long-running sex-trafficking enterprise. Prosecutors said he forced victims into participating in daylong sex parties that he dubbed "freak offs." His victims were plied with drugs and some feared losing his financial assistance if they didn't participate, according to prosecutors.

The allegations against Combs span decades, and include several claims that he drugged guests at his parties. "Combs particularly fancied the use of the popular date-rape drug Rohypnol, or GHB, to commit heinous non-consensual acts of sexual violence and rape onto countless victims," according to the latest suit.

Since the full extent of allegations against Combs came to light, speculation circulated about other celebrities who could have been involved. Carter has been one of the names linked with Combs. The pair developed a close friendship during the 1990s and they have collaborated many times.

Representatives for Carter and Roc Nation didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Combs has previously denied all of the allegations made against him.

In addition to 24 Grammy Awards, 14 chart-topping albums and a raft of hit singles, Carter has built a huge business empire covering industries from real estate and venture capital to music streaming, fashion and high-end liquor. In 2021, LVMH took a 50% stake in Carter's top-shelf Champagne brand Armand de Brignac.

Forbes estimates Carter's current net worth to be around $2.5 billion.

Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest. In March, agents with the Department of Homeland Security raided properties connected to Combs in Los Angeles and Miami in relation to the trafficking probe.

His trial is set to kick off in May, but the rapper could face additional charges in the case.

Write to Gareth Vipers at gareth.vipers@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 09, 2024 06:32 ET (11:32 GMT)

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