Sunday, December 22, 2024

Lawyer says there may be 300 potential cases against Diddy

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One lawsuit has received particular attention because it claims other celebrities were involved in Mr Combs’ alleged crimes.

The case, filed in New York in October, regards a 13-year-old who claims she became disorientated and dizzy after accepting a drink at one of Mr Combs’ parties.

Soon after, she claims that a man, originally identified as “Celebrity A” removed her clothes and raped her, while Mr Combs and a woman named as “Celebrity B” watched.

On Sunday, the plaintiff updated the lawsuit to identity the first celebrity as the rap legend Jay-Z.

In an extensive statement, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, called the claims “idiotic” and accused Mr Buzbee of attempting to blackmail him by threatening to make his name public.

“My heart and support goes out to true victims in the world, who have to watch how their life story is dressed in costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser in a cheap suit,” he added.

The musician had previously filed an anonymous lawsuit in Los Angeles, accusing Mr Buzbee of “shamelessly” trying to extort him.

Mr Buzbee fired back that the “frivolous” lawsuit was a “last-ditch attempt” to stop Mr Carter’s name being made public.

“I am a US Marine,” he wrote in an Instagram statement. “I won’t be silenced or intimidated. Neither will my clients.”

Mr Combs’ legal team also deny the claims, and said the extortion charge against Mr Buzbee “expose his barrage of lawsuits… for what they are: 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”.

The back and forth has only fuelled speculation that more high-profile music industry figures will become ensnared in the upcoming trials.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Buzbee called that eventuality “very likely”.

“If you just look at the conduct that’s being alleged, it’s pretty ubiquitous. There was a culture that was created, a party culture, where anything goes,” he says.

“There was just a general feeling that he [Mr Combs] was above the law, that he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, with whomever he wanted.”

Social media has seen a flurry of speculation, linking people to Mr Combs’ alleged crimes – based on little more than photos of showbusiness parties in the 1990s and 2000s.

Needless to say, there is no evidence to back up those allegations.

There have also been widely-discredited fakes, including a tell-all biography purportedly written by Mr Combs’ late partner, Kim Porter; and a viral song, in which Justin Bieber purportedly sang, “I lost myself at a Diddy party”. The latter turned out to be an AI-generated fake.

Lawyers for Mr Combs have argued that the number of “false and outrageous” claims being made by “government agents, plaintiffs’ attorneys, and others with questionable motives” could be “perceived as prejudicing potential jurors”.

Mr Buzbee disagrees.

“Obviously, the people who come into the court as jurors, don’t come in in a vacuum,” he tells the BBC.

“They read the press, and they know what’s going on, but I think most people are willing to say, ‘Let’s judge this claim on its merits. What is the proof and what is the defence?'”

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