Rapper Jay-Z joined his wife, pop star Beyoncé, and their daughter, Blue Ivy, at Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King premiere after denying a rape allegation by dismissing it as an extortion attempt.
Jay-Z, who was accused in a new lawsuit of participating in the rape of a 13-year-old girl alongside music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, was seen smiling with his family on the red carpet at the Mufasa: The Lion King premiere on Monday, according to a video clip shared by Entertainment Tonight.
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Notably, both Jay-Z and Beyoncé have voice-acting roles in the new Disney film.
Sources had told New York Post that before the civil lawsuit was filed, the music hitmakers and their daughter were rumored not to be attending the premiere — but appeared to have changed their minds after the allegations came to light.
On Sunday, Jay-Z — whose real name is Shawn Carter — was named in a lawsuit claiming that he and Combs had taken turns raping an alleged victim, identified in the suit as Jane Doe, while an unnamed female celebrity was also allegedly present.
Doe claimed she was feeling “woozy and lightheaded” after just one drink, according to the complaint.
Jay-Z at the “Mufasa: The Lion King” premiere at Dolby Theatre on December 09, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
The lawsuit, which was initially filed by attorney Tony Buzbee in October, was refiled on Sunday to include Jay-Z as a defendant.
During a press conference in early October, Buzbee announced forthcoming allegations in 120 separate lawsuits he planned to file, adding that more “shocking” names would be implicated in the suits, but only when the law firm makes “damn sure that we’re right.”
“The day will come when we will name names other than Sean Combs, and there’s a lot of names. It’s a long list already,” Buzbee said at the time, adding, “The names that we’re going to name — are names that will shock you.”
The “Empire State of Mind” rapper dismissed the allegations via a lengthy statement posted by his company Roc Nation, calling the claims a “blackmail attempt.”
“What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle,” the statement read. “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!!”
As Breitbart News reported, Combs has been in jail since September 16 after he was arrested following a federal indictment accusing him of more than a decade of abusing, threatening, and coercing women and others, racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice, among other crimes.
The disgraced music mogul has since been denied bail three times while he awaits his upcoming sex trafficking trial, set for May 5.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.