Jay-Z and Beyoncé accompany daughter Blue Ivy to red carpet event following rapper's sexual assault allegation
On Monday night, Jay-Z and Beyoncé graced the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere of “Mufasa: The Lion King,” accompanied by their daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. This appearance followed a day after Jay-Z refuted claims of an alleged sexual assault involving a 13-year-old in 2000, alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs.
In footage shared by E!News on YouTube, the illustrious duo applauded their 12-year-old daughter, who features in the film, before joining her for photographs, including snaps with Beyoncé's mother, Tina Knowles. Blue Ivy lends her voice to Kiara, Simba and Nala's daughter (the latter voiced by Beyoncé), in this prequel unveiling Mufasa's origins.
The public appearance of the renowned couple coincided with fresh accusations against Jay-Z, legal name Shawn Carter, brought to light when a woman amended her lawsuit against Combs to include Carter. The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, claims she was 13 at the time of the alleged assault by Combs and Carter at a 2000 Video Music Awards after-party.
According to the lawsuit, after feeling disoriented from a drink, Doe purportedly entered a nearby bedroom where Carter allegedly assaulted her first, followed by Combs. She claims to have struck Combs and fled the scene.
In a statement to CNN, Carter described the accusations as “so heinous in nature" and urged a criminal, rather than a civil, complaint. He expressed that anyone guilty of such a crime should face incarceration.
Carter is the first public figure linked to Combs in this context. Combs was indicted in September on charges involving sex trafficking and other serious offenses, to which he pleaded not guilty, denying all allegations across numerous civil suits.
On Monday, Carter’s legal team moved to compel Doe to disclose her identity or face dismissal of the lawsuit. The lawsuit also suggests Doe’s attorneys sought mediation, alleging Carter retaliated not only with a frivolous lawsuit but by orchestrating intimidation against Doe's legal representatives and their affiliates, aiming to silence her.
Carter called the mediation proposal a “blackmail attempt” in his response to Doe’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, criticizing Buzbee's history of similar cases. Houston-based Buzbee emphasized the legal documents speak for themselves and underscored the gravity of the matter.
Carter lamented the impact on his family, expressing his “only heartbreak” was for them. He acknowledged the difficulty of explaining the allegations to their children, one of whom is of age to encounter the media’s portrayal and its questions. He mourned the loss of innocence that his children must now confront.
CNN has also sought a statement from Beyoncé regarding the situation.
