Jay-Z has described a lawsuit alleging he raped a 13-year-old girl along with Sean "Diddy" Combs at a party in 2000 as a "blackmail attempt".
The federal civil lawsuit was originally filed in October in the Southern District of New York, listing Combs as a defendant, but was refiled on Sunday to add the US rap star, real name Shawn Carter.
The legal papers claim Carter and Combs drugged and raped the complainant, named only by the pseudonym Jane Doe, at an afterparty following the 2000 Video Music Awards, while an unnamed female celebrity watched.
Carter said the lawsuit was part of a "blackmail attempt" by the claimant's lawyer, saying his "only heartbreak" was for his family.
In a statement on social media, Carter said: "My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a 'lawyer’ named Tony Buzbee. 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. 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."
Carter also addressed his wife Beyoncé and their children saying he will have to explain the "cruelty and greed of people" to them.
"My only heartbreak is for my family. 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", he said.
"I mourn yet another loss of innocence. 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."
The Grammy-winning musician added that his "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".
The claimant has asked for a jury trial and is seeking compensatory damages for "all physical injuries, emotional distress, psychological harm, anxiety, humiliation, physical and emotional pain and suffering, family and social disruption, and other harm".
Lawyer Anthony Buzbee has filed a number of lawsuits against Combs, with the hip-hop mogul pleading not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years, aided by associates and employees.
Combs has been denied bail numerous times as he awaits a criminal trial over allegations of sex trafficking.
Source: Press Association
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