Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - P. Diddy and JLo Fought Before Rapper Allegedly Raped 13-Year-Old: Report

Episode Date: November 5, 2024

Photos have surfaced from January 2000 that show Sean "Diddy" Combs and his then-girlfriend, singer Jennifer Lopez, appearing to argue at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty. Questions have been raised about that night after a woman filed a lawsuit claiming Combs sexually assaulted her at a house that night when she was 13. The suit claims an unnamed male and female celebrity were present at the time of the assault. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy looks at the suit and claims the couple argued that night in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/CrimeFixHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guests:Neama Rahmani  https://x.com/NeamaRahmaniCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad free right now join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app apple podcasts or spotify a lawsuit filed against sean diddy combs by a woman claiming he raped her at an mtv video music awards after party in front of a male and a female celebrity is raising eyebrows and questions about who those unnamed celebrities could be. This comes as a new report claims Combs and his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez argued that night. I look at what it could mean. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Sean Combs has faced a flurry of civil lawsuits from women claiming that he sexually assaulted them. Combs has denied all of the allegations in these civil suits,

and he has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges filed against him by federal prosecutors. Prosecutors have said more charges could be coming, and a federal grand jury actually heard additional testimony just last week. The latest wave of civil lawsuits have been filed by attorney Tony Busby, who claims to have been contacted by more than 100 people claiming that Combs sexually assaulted them. Some of these people were minors at the time. Combs' lawyers have said Busby is just looking for publicity and a quick payday. But a suit filed in the last week by a woman identified

only as Jane Doe is raising eyebrows because of when and where she claims Combs assaulted her. The woman was 13 at the time in January of 2000 when she said she went to the MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall. She didn't have a ticket, so she approached some limo drivers parked outside hoping she might get in. The lawsuit says, one of the limousine drivers she spoke to claimed to work for defendant combs he told her that combs liked younger girls and said she quote fit what diddy was looking for not allowing her into the awards but inviting her to an after party the driver instructed plaintiff to return around 9 30 or 10 p.m. promising to take her to the party. Now, while this woman says she was outside the VMAs talking to limo drivers,

inside it was a big, big night, particularly for Jennifer Lopez, who was at the award show with her then boyfriend Sean Combs. They were a hot couple back then. Lopez won the VMA that night for Best Dance Video. She was on top of the world. Afterward, the couple went to a nightclub, which is closed now for an after party. The Daily Mail reported that there were a lot of famous people at this party, like Eminem, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, magician David Blaine, and many more. And at the party, the Daily Mail actually posted photos and quoted a source that showed Lopez and Combs getting into an argument.

No one knows what this argument was about. Let's be very clear about that. But she doesn't look happy in these photos. Now back to the lawsuit. The woman claims that night outside of Radio City Music Hall, she got into a limo with someone affiliated with Sean Combs. The suit says, after approximately 20 minutes, plaintiff arrived at a large white house with a gated U-shaped driveway. Once inside, two men asked plaintiff to sign a non-disclosure agreement, informing her that she could not discuss what happened at the party. She gave them her name and signed the form, but did not receive a copy. Inside the house, plaintiff recognized many celebrities in what appeared to be a living room.

Waitstaff carried trays of drinks and loud music played throughout the house. Plaintiff observed widespread drug use, including marijuana and cocaine. Plaintiff accepted a drink, a reddish-yellow mixture that tasted like orange juice, cranberry juice, and something bitter. The woman is not claiming that she was at the nightclub, but she claims that she started feeling woozy and went to a bedroom at this house to lay down and was then assaulted. The suit continues. Soon after Combs, along with a male and female celebrity, entered the room. Combs aggressively approached plaintiff with a crazed look in his

eyes, grabbed her and said, you are ready to party. Combs then threw plaintiff toward another male celebrity, celebrity A, who removed plaintiff's clothes as she grew more and more disoriented. Plaintiff was held down by celebrity A, who raped her while Combs and celebrity B, a female, watched. Now, celebrity A and celebrity B obviously are not identified in this lawsuit. We have no idea who they are. And I'm certainly not saying or suggesting that celebrity B is JLo. We have no idea who this woman is claiming these people are.

But Jennifer Lopez is one of the many celebrities who has not said anything about the allegations made against Sean Combs. And many people have wanted her to say something, anything really. She dated him from 1999 to 2001. In fact, they broke up about five months after this accuser claims in her lawsuit that the sexual assault took place. And we have no idea what Jennifer Lopez thinks about any of this or whether she ever witnessed anything that concerned her when it comes to minors, women, men, or drugs. In fact, she was asked about Combs recently. Take a look at what happened.

So J-Lo did not like that, not one bit. And it's not the only time it's happened. Other people have asked her the same question and received absolutely no response so what does any of this mean the cases I cover each day here on crime fix show you just how scary the world can be and one of the scariest things that can happen is if you are ever hurt but I want you to know if you're ever injured or hurt in an accident your case could be worth millions That's where our sponsor Morgan & Morgan comes in. The firm has an army of more than 1,000 lawyers who will fight for what you deserve and they have the track record to prove it.

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no upfront fees. So if you're ever hurt, you can easily start a claim at ForThePeople.com slash CrimeFix. I want to bring in Nima Romani. He's an entertainment attorney and also a former federal prosecutor. So Nima, I'm interested in your thoughts. What do you make about JLo staying so quiet about this? Of course, she hasn't been with Sean Combs for many, many years, but she is his most high profile, most well-known romantic interest. And she was with him the night that this woman, who claims she was 13, she claims that she was sexually assaulted by Sean Combs at this after party. And Jeanette, J-Lo wants nothing to do with Diddy. People normally don't want to have anything to do with their ex, but especially here.

I mean, obviously they broke up more than 20 years ago, but both in terms of the courtroom potentially being named in a civil lawsuit or being a witness in his criminal trial is the last thing she wants to do, especially when she's campaigning right now for the vice president and trying to get her elected. Yeah, she certainly has been out there on the campaign trail for Kamala Harris.

We saw her last week. She actually got tearful when she was up there on stage campaigning. But we see that clip of her. She's signing autographs somewhere. And somebody says, do you have a comment on the whole Diddy thing? And she just kind of walks off. She's like, I'm over this. And you can see it in her face.

She wants nothing to do with it but should she possibly say something I mean she was with him back when this whole nightclub shooting happened I mean she was with him for a time almost two years or so maybe a little longer than that I mean she may have seen some stuff we just't know. She may very well be a witness. And there's a possibility, if you believe the allegations, that she witnessed a rape of a 13-year-old girl. So the question is, you know, what is she going to do? And I'm going to tell you what her legal and PR team is telling her, which is keep your mouth shut. Do not address it at all. No one wants anything to do with Diddy

and his legal problems. This isn't a Michael Jackson situation where people are going to come out in defense of Diddy. No one is doing that. I mean, essentially, he's been convicted in the court of public opinion. And I think J-Lo, given her previous romantic relationship, and of course, she was involved in his previous criminal case, that nightclub shooting in New York. Obviously, that resulted in an acquittal. But I think given where she is in her personal and professional life, she's staying as far away from this as she possibly can. Yeah, and I want to be clear, you know, she was detained that night for the nightclub shooting. She wasn't ever charged or anything

like that so and there was all this talk at the time that her mom was telling her you got to get away from this guy um but I do want to be clear too like she she's not I don't she's not been accused of witnessing the rape of the 13 year old girl but she was at the party that night the after party at the bar this alleged sexual assault took part took place at a house much later in the evening allegedly or a little later in the evening but nima there's are these pictures in the daily mail that the daily mail has gotten a hold of that show she and sean combs you know jennifer lopez and sean combs apparently arguing uh that. So is this a publication maybe trying to make something out of possibly nothing? I mean, couples argue. You're at a party. Maybe there's

some alcohol flowing, things. Who knows what was going on? Couples argue all the time, and it may have nothing to do with what happened allegedly happened later that evening the alleged victim wasn't even there at this lotus nightclub so but obviously if jennifer lopez or anyone else witnessed this girl at the house even if they didn't witness the alleged sexual contact that corroborates her story so that's important and i'm sure a civil plaintiff's lawyer would want to depose Jennifer Lopez and potentially call it to the stand if the case actually goes all the way to trial. It's interesting. And that's an interesting point. That's an interesting point

you make because we have a very specific date here. We're talking about January 7th, 2000, January 6th, January 7th, 2000, Video Music Awards. He is clearly, Sean Combs is clearly there at the awards show with Jennifer Lopez. And this plaintiff describes being outside the VMAs, talking to limo drivers, et cetera. So if you're Tony Busby, are you reaching out to Jennifer Lopez's attorneys? I think so.

And I think it was strategic in terms of how the civil complaint was pled. You have celebrity A and you have celebrity B. Obviously, you can name celebrities. There's nothing unlawful in doing so. And you're actually protected from being sued for defamation because there's a litigation privilege. So there's a strategic reason here why Busby didn't name the celebrities he's giving them an out to settle the case and remain confidential and not be dragged into the civil lawsuit so believe me Busby and the plaintiff's lawyers are in direct negotiations with celebrity A and B of course one

of the celebrities was alleged to have participated in the rape. So he's very differently situated than the female celebrity who watched, whether it was Jennifer Lopez or someone else. But wouldn't that person be also complicit? If they watched the rape and they let it happen, they'd have to do something, right? That's to be a legal duty. So we're talking about the difference between criminal and civil so obviously if she participated in not allowing her to leave or drugging her there has to be some action right generally speaking there's not liability based on an omission unless there's a legal duty now some states do say there's a legal duty to take care of a minor if you have a relationship with them it's unclear whether if you have a relationship with them.

It's unclear whether the celebrities had any relationship with this minor where they had a duty to act. But obviously, you know, if they drugged the drink, gave her the drink, wouldn't let her leave. But just witnessing a criminal act by itself usually is not grounds for liability. So do you think that Tony Busby has already reached out to celebrity A and celebrity B and is already in negotiations with them? And that's the reason why those people weren't sued or named in the lawsuit? Absolutely. I think Busby and the plaintiff's lawyers are giving those celebrities a chance to settle the case and keep it confidential. Otherwise, they're going to be named in an amended complaint,

and they're going to be outed. And then at that point, you can't really unring that bell, and everyone's going to know at least what the accusations are against those two celebrities. That to me is pretty amazing, because it's almost a little bit like a shakedown, isn't it? I mean, why not just sue them if you're after justice? It is potentially a shakedown isn't it i mean why not just sue them if you're if you're after justice it is potentially a shakedown or extortion or money grab whatever you want to call it but the leverage that busby has is the celebrity remaining confidential and anonymous right they're going to pay to get out of this once their name then they're going to have to potentially litigate the case to clear their name right because they'll be convicted in the court of public opinion so like any good lawyer he is advocating on behalf of his client using whatever leverage he

has and this is probably the best leverage in the case is them getting out and remaining anonymous well it would certainly be interesting to find out who A and B are. I think we all want to know, but we may never know. May just be all left up to people making inferences and things of that nature. Nima Rahmani, thank you so much. Thanks, Anjanette. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.