The woman who accused rappers Jay-Z and Diddy of raping her when she was 13 years old detailed her experience in an interview with NBC News.
In the interview, the unidentified woman recalled being taken by Sean "Diddy" Combs’ driver to an MTV Video Music Awards after-party, where she spoke with celebrities before she “started feeling funny.” The alleged victim said Combs and Jay-Z — whose real name is Shawn Carter — raped her. She said the experience ruined her life.
“I got severely depressed. I withdrew completely. My grades started slipping,” she said, adding her downward spiral included a period of homelessness.
The woman filed a lawsuit last weekend, adding Carter to a pre-existing lawsuit accusing Combs of sexual assault. Combs has faced numerous allegations of sexual assault and is currently facing criminal sex trafficking charges.
In her first interview since the accusations were filed, the Jane Doe acknowledged that her account in the lawsuit contained some inconsistencies.
“I have made some mistakes,” she said.
NBC noted that the version of events shared by the accuser included a celebrity who wasn't in New York at the time. She recalled her father picking her up after the party, though he has said he doesn’t remember doing that.
Still, the woman told NBC News she felt an obligation to come forward.
“You should always fight for what happened to you,” she said. “You should always advocate for yourself and be a voice for yourself. You should never let what somebody else did ruin or run your life. I just hope I can give others the strength to come forward like I came forward.”
Carter denied the allegations as soon as the news broke and once again refuted them to NBC, saying the “incident didn’t happen.”
Combs also denied the allegation, one of over a hundred brought against the mogul.