Beyoncé Sends Moving Message to Daughter Blue Ivy After Movie ...

Despite the night being a celebration for Beyoncé, 43, and her 12-year-old daughter, it comes during a difficult time in the Carter-Knowles household. 

One day before the event, Jay-Z—whose real name is Shawn Carter—was accused in a civil suit of raping a 13-year-old girl with Sean "Diddy" Combs. However, he vehemently denied the allegations.

"These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!!" Jay-Z said in his statement to E!. "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."

The accuser, identified as "Jane Doe" in the refiled civil suit, listed Jay-Z as the unnamed individual she claimed raped her alongside Combs at a house party after the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. The "Empire State of Mind" rapper, 55, slammed the lawyer who filed the allegations, Tony Buzbee, who also represents several other cases against Combs.

"You have made a terrible error in judgment thinking that all 'celebrities' are the same," Jay-Z continued in his statement. "I'm a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. We don't play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor."

He added, "What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle."

For his part, Buzbee rejected the rapper's assertions about his client's motives in a Dec. 8 statement to E!, noting that his client "never demanded a penny from him. Instead, she only sought a confidential mediation."

As far as the allegations in the complaint filed," Buzbee concluded, "we will let the filing speak for itself and will litigate the facts in court, not in the media."

Now, read on for a full breakdown of Diddy's legal battle.

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Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed search warrants at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami properties on March 25, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to NBC News.  

The sources told the outlet the warrant was out of the Southern District of New York, and a spokesperson for HSI New York confirmed to E! News it “executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners.” 

Law enforcement sources told NBC News the music mogul was in the Miami area when the search warrants were executed. 

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News about the investigation broke after Combs faced allegations of sexual misconduct in lawsuits filed by multiple accusers starting in November, with the musician denying the allegations. 

“Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday,” he wrote in a December statement posted on Instagram. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.” 

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The day after HSI executed the search warrants at Combs' L.A. and Miami properties, his lawyer spoke out. 

"Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs' residences," attorney Aaron Dyer said in a March 26 statement to E! News. "There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated." 

Dyer noted Combs “was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.”  

“Despite media speculation, neither Mr. Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested nor has their ability to travel been restricted in any way,” his lawyer's statement continued. “This unprecedented ambush—paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence—leads  to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.” 

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And Dyer expressed Combs' intent to defend himself.

“There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations,” he added. “Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”

Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images for Sean "Diddy" Combs

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Miami-Dade Police Department

On the same day the search warrants were executed at Combs’ Miami and Los Angeles properties, one of his associates, Brendan Paul, was arrested by the Miami-Dade police on suspicion of drug possession, a law enforcement source familiar with the matter told NBC News. 

According to the Miami-Dade arrest affidavit obtained by the outlet, Paul was taken into custody for allegedly possessing suspected cocaine and suspected marijuana candy. 

Prison records obtained by NBC News show Paul was released on March 26 after posting bond.

“We do not plan on trying this case in the media,” Paul’s attorney Brian Bieber said in a statement obtained by the outlet, “all issues will be dealt with in court.” 

In May, Paul accepted a plea deal, with his lawyer Bieber telling People, "Brendan accepted the prosecutor’s offer to permit his entry into the diversion program which, after completion, the case against him will be dismissed in its entirety."

Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images for Sean "Diddy" Combs

He was arrested in the lobby of a New York hotel on Sept. 16, 2024, according to NBC News. It's unclear what Combs has been charged with and if the arrest has any potential connection to the raids.

“We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney’s Office," his lawyer Marc Agnifilo said in a statement to E! News. "He is an imperfect person but Is not criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges."

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Following his arrest, Combs was held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center where he was denied a $50 million bond. The music mogul was also placed on suicide watch, which a source told E! News is a customary procedure for high-profile inmates. He was since taken off. 

He was assigned the same area of the jail as cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, a source told NBC News. 

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images / Instagram

Comedian Jeff Wittek, 34, came forward Sept. 29 to say he attended one of Diddy's "freak off" parties around 2010 in a Miami mansion.

"It was like eight stories high and it just kept going up," Wittek said on Jeff FM, "and the higher you went, the weirder s--t was going on."

"I saw live sex happen that night," he continued. "That's the first time I saw that happen ever in my life. And did I partake? No, but I got f--king drunk there."

As Wittek put it, "It's just crazy. I was literally there. I lived through it."

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In an Oct. 1 press conference, attorney Tony Buzbee detailed that 120 people had come forward with new sexual assault allegations against the rapper. 

The allegations against Combs, Buzbee noted in a press conference with NBC News, include, "violent sexual assault or rape, facilitated sex with a controlled substance, dissemination of video recordings, sexual abuse of minors."

A lawyer for the rapper, Erica Wolff, later responded to the allegations, emphasizing that Combs maintains his innocence. 

“He cannot address every meritless allegation in what has become a reckless media circus," she said. "That said, Mr. Combs emphatically and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors."

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One of the 120 accusers was only 9 years old when they were allegedly assaulted by Combs, their lawyer Tony Buzbee said in an Oct. 1 press conference, per NBC News.

According to the attorney, “25 of the accusers were minors at the time of the alleged incidents."

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“It is heartbreaking to see my son judged not for the truth, but for a narrative created out of lies,” Janice’s attorney Natlie G. Figgers shared in a statement on her behalf to The Hollywood Reporter Oct. 6. “To bear witness what seems to be like a public lynching of my son before he has had the opportunity to prove his innocence is a pain too unbearable to put into words. Like every human being, my son deserves to have his day in court, to finally share his side, and to prove his innocence.”

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Beyoncé and Jay-Z's lawyer spoke out after Piers Morgan's TV guest Jaguar Wright claimed the couple had more “victims” than Diddy.

"There’s rumors, and then there’s nonsense, and this is one step further,” lawyer Alex Spiro told TMZ Oct. 9. “This is a formal and pointed accusation of something.”

Their attorney told Piers to “remove that false accusation," which the host later did and apologized. 

“As I noted in the moment," Piers said on his Oct. 8  show, "they were not present to respond or defend themselves. But now they have: their lawyer has contacted us to say those claims are totally false and have no basis in fact.”