(Todd A. Smith)
Just because Jay-Z and Diddy have done business together does not make them close friends.
And just because they have done business with each other does not mean that they get together to engage in criminality.
Via his attorney Alex Spiro, rap mogul Jay-Z said his name is Bennett and he ain’t in it.
That’s a direct quote.
Well, not really.
But that’s basically the gist of his comments via his lawyer.
A woman accused Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, of raping her when she was 13-years-old at an MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) after party in 2000.
The woman said that rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs participated in the rape too.
Almost immediately, Spiro began poking holes in the lady’s story, which has resulted in her admitting inconsistencies in her allegations.
The Associated Press reported, “Speaking to reporters at Roc Nation’s New York headquarters, Jay-Z’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said the woman’s claim relied on an ‘improbable timeline’ and nonexistent location. While the lawsuit said the assault happened at a ‘large white residence with a U-shaped driveway, photos show both Jay-Z…and Combs at a nightclub following the award show.
“In the suit, the woman said she snuck out of a window of her home in Rochester and hitched a ride to the award ceremony from a friend, who has since died. She said she watched the event on a jumbotron outside, then befriended a limousine driver who drove her to a house party where she was assaulted by the two rap moguls.
“Following the alleged rape, she said she fled the house and called her father for a ride home from a nearby gas station.”
The accuser’s father said he has no recollection of picking up his daughter from New York City and taking her back home to Rochester, N.Y. as a 13-year-old.
The A.P. added, “It would’ve taken her five hours to drive to Rochester, the lawyer noted, meaning she would’ve had to leave her home by 3 p.m. Permits and photographs show there was no jumbotrons outside the VMAs, according to Spiro.”
The lady initially sued Diddy for sexual assault and then amended her complaint to include Jay-Z.
She is represented by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee who set up a toll-free telephone line so that people who Combs allegedly sexually assaulted could call in for legal help.
Buzbee is representing 120 people, men and women, who accused Combs of sexual assault.
The attorney also represented women who accused quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual assault when the star played for the Houston Texans.
Although successful with many of the lawsuits against Watson, this case will probably teach lawyers and accusers something valuable about making any old claim against celebrities because defamation suits are sure to follow.
But it should also teach people about the difference between a friend and a colleague/associate or acquaintance.
As hip-hop legends, Combs has crossed paths with Carter many times at numerous industry events.
On Jay-Z’s first album “Reasonable Doubt,” he collaborated with Combs’ flagship artist at Bad Boy Entertainment, The Notorious B.I.G., on the song “Brooklyn’s Finest.”
In fact, Biggie and Jay-Z actually attended high school together making their collaboration probably more about their relationship than any relationship with Combs.
One of Black Hollywood’s biggest networking event is Combs’ white party in The Hamptons, which features a who’s who of Black entertainers, executives and athletes.
Jay-Z has frequented this event and several videos and pictures floating around the Internet will verify that.
But in the lawsuit against Combs and Carter, the accuser and her attorney make it seem like the two moguls were BFFs (best friends forever) and that they basically gang raped a child.
On social media, many people are considering Jay-Z and Diddy close friends because they have collaborated on his music together.
But does doing business with someone really make them a friend?
Does taking a picture with someone really make them a friend?
Absolutely not.
In any business, networking is necessary for upward mobility.
Therefore, sometimes a person will attend events just because they might stumble onto some business opportunities with other attendees.
Out of these events, a person might develop a good working relationship with someone, or they just might become cordial.
However, that does not make them best friends or mean they collaborate on criminal activity.
Like any colleague, a person might know what someone does at the office.
However, they are not privy to what happens in that person’s private life.
They see each other at work.
Get the job done.
And then they go home to their family and loved-ones.
Sometimes a person can have a close friend that they never do business with.
And sometimes a person might do business with someone that they do not even personally like because that person is great at what they do.
As a business owner, I do business with people I like and dislike.
I might even attend the same event with them and take pictures and post them on social media.
Very rarely do I hang out with them or their family members in our personal time, which would indicate a true friendship in my opinion.
While I do work with some family members and fraternity brothers who are gifted in areas that I am not, there are some friends and family members that I would never do business with several reasons.
Nevertheless, I would take a bullet for them.
Carter and Combs probably had a cordial business relationship like many people in the entertainment industry because they must work together, and they constantly see each other at industry events.
But working with someone and participating in the gang rape of a child is ridiculous and outrageous.
Just like it is ridiculous to confuse a colleague with a close friend.
