The Texas attorney who filed several anonymous complaints against hip hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has declared he won’t be intimidated following strong remarks from Jay-Z.
Tony Buzbee shared a photo of him in uniform as a platoon commander on Instagram Sunday night, claiming people were harassing him and his family.
He did not accuse Jay-Z of engaging in any of the harassment, but earlier in the day added his name to an anonymous lawsuit accusing him and Diddy of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.
‘Recognize this guy?’ Buzbee asked as he shared the photo from his time in the Marines. ‘This is a picture of the Weapons Platoon Commander, Alpha Company, First Battalion, Fourth Marines from our old Western Pacific cruise book.
‘Despite a coordinated and aggressive effort that has included harassing my kids, contacting my clients and former clients to encourage them to sue me, contacting my colleagues and former employees asking if I’ve “abused” them, showing up at my current employee’s house to harass them, filing frivolous cases against me and my law firm defaming me with outrageous assertions to anyone who will listen and having mysterious people follow me and my family, I’m still THAT guy.
‘I won’t be bullied or intimidated,’ he continued.
‘People will see through this effort to discredit me and my clients, and the truth will be revealed.
‘I also won’t allow anyone to scare my clients into silence,’ Buzbee said. ‘Sunlight is the best disinfectant and I am quite certain the sun is coming.’
Buzbee has filed more than 100 lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual assault.
Many of the suits did not survive because the plaintiffs declined to have their identities unveiled.
But a judge had ruled that one case alleging that Combs and Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old girl at an after party following the MTV Video Music Awards in September of 2000 may move forward, saying the victim showed sufficient cause to continue with the suit in anonymity.
It had originally been filed in New York’s Southern District this past October against Combs, with a refiling on Sunday naming Jay-Z, 55, whose real name is Shawn Carter, as a defendant.
The suit alleges that the then-teenager took a drink at the VMA afterparty that had ‘a reddish-yellow mixture that tasted like orange juice, cranberry juice, and something bitter’ and ‘began to feel woozy and lightheaded, making her need to lie down.’
She claimed she laid down in ‘what appeared to be an empty bedroom’ and then Combs, Jay-Z and a female celebrity referred to as “Celebrity B” entered the room.
‘Combs aggressively approached Plaintiff with a crazed look in his eyes, grabbed her, and said, “You are ready to party!”‘ legal documents read.
The accuser said in the lawsuit that Combs threw her ‘toward a wall,’ leading her to fall, then ‘grabbed her again and threw her on the bed.’
She went on to claim that Jay-Z began stripping her down ‘as she grew more and more disoriented’ and held her down as ‘he vaginally raped her, while Combs and Celebrity B watched.
‘After [Jay-Z] finished, he stepped back toward the wall. Combs then stepped forward and vaginally raped Plaintiff while Carter and Celebrity B watched,’ the suit says.
According to legal docs, ‘another celebrity stood by and watched as Combs and Carter took turns assaulting the minor. Many others were present at the after party, but did nothing to stop the assault.
The accuser also said that Combs tried to force her ‘to perform oral sex on him,’ at which point she ‘fought back, standing up quickly and punching out at the same time, hitting Combs in the neck,’ at which point he ‘stopped his attempt.’
The alleged victim now ‘suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and a seizure disorder caused by stress and trauma,’ and ‘has had difficulty maintaining normal relationships and lives largely withdrawn from society,’ according to the suit.
She is asking the court for unspecified damages in the suit, which had been filed under New York state’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act.
Jay-Z hit out at Buzbee in the aftermath, suggesting he was not a legitimate lawyer, as he launched into a slew of insults.
‘My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a “lawyer” named Tony Buzbee,’ the Roc Nation founder began.
He accused Buzbee of taking on the case for ‘personal gain’ and wrote: ‘What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle.’
‘No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion,’ he continued. ‘So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!’
‘These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case,’ he continued.
‘This lawyer, who I have done a bit of research on, seems to have a pattern of these type of theatrics! I have no idea how you have come to be such a deplorable human Mr. Buzbee, but I promise you I have seen your kind many times over. I’m more than prepared to deal with your type,’ he added.
‘You claim to be a marine?! Marines are known for their valor, you have neither honor nor dignity’
The rapper then mentioned how it is ‘unfair’ that his family, particularly his eldest daughter Blue Ivy, will also be affected by the lawsuit.
‘My only heartbreak is for my family,’ he wrote. ‘My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people.
‘I mourn yet another loss of innocence,’ he wrote.
‘Children should not have to endure such at their young age. It is unfair to have to try to understand inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirit,’ he added.
‘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.’
‘You have made a terrible error in judgment thinking that all “celebrities” are the same. I’m not from your world,’ he wrote.
‘I’m a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. We don’t play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor,’ he continued.
‘We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain. Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable.’
He concluded his statement and wrote: ‘I look forward to showing you just how different I am.’
Combs, who is being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, has denied all of the allegations against him.
Combs in September was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and additional offenses by federal officials. He has tried in vain to get bail on three occasions.
Attorneys for Combs issued a statement to TMZ on Sunday evening calling Buzbee’s latest move one in a series of ‘shameless publicity stunts;’ and reiterated their stance on the case against Combs.
‘This amended complaint and the recent extortion lawsuit against Mr. Buzbee exposes his barrage of lawsuits against Mr. Combs 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 statement read.
It continued: ‘As his legal team has said before, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone – man or woman, adult or minor.’