A New York judge has ruled that the woman accusing music moguls Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her when she was 13 years old can remain anonymous for now.
Judge Analisa Torres stated that the accuser, referred to as Jane Doe, has the right to anonymity at this stage but may need to disclose her identity as the case progresses.
The decision follows Jay-Z’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and deny the plaintiff’s request to proceed anonymously.
The allegations stem from an alleged incident at an MTV VMAs after-party in 2000, which both defendants have denied.
Jay-Z’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, described the accusations as “provably, demonstrably false,” citing inconsistencies in the plaintiff’s account.
Judge Torres criticised Spiro’s aggressive legal tactics, calling them inappropriate and wasteful of judicial resources.
Meanwhile, the plaintiff’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, defended his client and dismissed attempts to discredit her as a “failing strategy”.
She was quite happy to go to the afterparty, in fact she totally pushed for an invite, if the reported complaint is correct. Jay-Z and Diddy are just small barnacles on a much bigger fish.