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Sports journalist and TV/ radio host Stephen A. Smith addressed the allegations against his longtime friend Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. Smith defended the music mogul and dismissed the comparisons being drawn between Jay and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Trigger warning: This article has references to s*xual assault. Discretion is advised.
In the December 10 episode of his eponymous show uploaded on his YouTube channel, Stephen shut down the drugging and r*pe accusations against the Roc Nation boss amid his recent lawsuit.
“Anybody who’s been around Jay-Z and knows him has seen him come to the defense of the most helpless among us - the children. I can't believe for one second that he would ever be associated with an allegation like this… R*pe? First of all, I wouldn't believe that. Secondly, a 13-year-old? No,” he shared.
Smith went on:
“But be clear, this ain’t P. Diddy. Homeland Security didn’t raid Jay-Z’s home. He wasn’t charged with multiple felony accounts that can land him in jail for the rest of his natural life. He [Jay] is being accused by a plaintiff who’s hired a lawyer in pursuit of civil retribution, 20 years after the fact. That’s not P. Diddy. This is different.”
Stephen A. Smith also mentioned how he hadn’t spoken to Jay-Z after the allegations emerged. However, he was still addressing the matter in public as he has “known and loved” his friend for over two decades.
Exploring further Stephen A. Smith’s response to Jay-Z’s lawsuit
On Tuesday, during The Stephen A. Smith Show, the host shared there’s “no way in hell” that he believes that Jay-Z, whom he has known as a close friend for more than 25 years, was capable of s*xually assaulting a minor.
“The Jay-Z that I know… have seen around teenagers and he doesn’t even want us playing the kind of music we kind of listen to in hip-hop. He made us turn it off,” he shared.
Stephen A. Smith continued by saying how Jay found the allegations leveled against his former collaborator and convicted s*x offender R. Kelly “despicable and abhorrent” and later grew to “dislike [him] a lot particularly.”
The ESPN columnist called out people who were comparing Jay-Z to Diddy and were seemingly mocking him for speaking about the latter’s ongoing scandal but not addressing the former’s lawsuit. Stephen explained that he was abroad for work and had no time to discuss the recent Jay allegations.
However, now that he was back, he was ready to talk about it at large. He explained that while he didn't know Diddy personally and had only "met" and "talked to" him a few times, he has closely known Jay for a couple of decades and hence didn't "believe" the accusations against him.
Smith clarified he was not in the position to assess the "truth or falsehood" or "guilt or innocence" associated with Combs' ongoing federal case, adding he simply "reported" it.
He mentioned that he decided to cover Diddy's story as his houses were raided, and he was arrested and charged with multiple crimes by the US federal government and not just a lawyer such as Tony Buzbee such as in case of Jay.
He also told the viewers how it wasn’t “irresponsible” of him to “refute” the accusations against Jay-Z as despite having no “eye-witness evidence,” he knew him personally.
“That’s not irresponsible. That’s love right there. Because of what you know about a person based on your personal interactions with them along with the people that have been around,” he added.
Stephen A. Smith went on record to claim that what made him “confident enough” about going live with his Jay-Z defense was the hip-hop magnate’s statement where he said:
“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… These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”
Smith pointed out that his friend challenged the plaintiff’s lawyer to “go to court” because under no circumstances was he ready to damage his public reputation or risk the love and respect of his wife, Beyonce, and children, Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir.
“You think I’m gonna let you talk about me like that? When I got to explain to my children your dad is not a r*pist? You think that’s a conversation I want? You think I’m gonna let that slide? That’s what Jay-Z is saying,” Stephen claimed.
Smith concluded by sharing how he was in no way castigating the plaintiff. However, the lawyer involved was an “ambulance chaser” who was “pursuing money” via a civil suit rather than seeking “conviction” that would send the defendant to jail.
Shawn Carter was accused of allegedly drugging and r*ping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 at an MTV VMAs afterparty alongside the host, Sean Combs. An unnamed female celebrity reportedly witnessed the alleged crime according to the civil suit refiled on December 8.
It was originally filed by Texas attorney Tony Buzbee in October on behalf of the alleged victim. Jay-Z has ever since issued a response via Roc Nation. In his statement, he dismissed the allegations and called the lawsuit a "blackmail" attempt after he seemingly refused to "settle" outside court.
