The internet, they say, never forgets. Although it may let sleeping dogs lie sometimes, now and again, something happens to wake those mutts up. The snowballing Diddy saga has added another layer to its already bulky mass. A recent sexual assault allegation against Jay-Z has reawakened fans’ inquest into the music mogul’s marriage to Beyoncé Knowles. Online discourse is filling up fast with varying opinions around the same topic. She may have been 16 when they met!
Over the weekend, an anonymous accuser alleged that 55-year-old and Diddy assaulted her when she was 13 years old. In the civil lawsuit, the abuse allegedly happened at a house party in the year 2000 after the VMAs. The timeline roughly coincides with the early stages of Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s courtship, when he was 30 and she was 19. Due to the proximity of events, many fans online have begun discussing inconsistencies in the couple’s relationship timeline. One user on X, @missfacto, created a thread detailing these inconsistencies.
In a 2007 interview with Charlie Rose, the father-of-three admitted to meeting Beyoncé in 1997. She was 16 then. However, he said they started dating 2 years later when she was 18. A photo of the pair backstage on the video set for “No, No, No” when Beyoncé was 16 seemingly affirms this. Beyoncé, however, in an interview with Seventeen Magazine, unknowingly countered this, saying they started dating when she was 19. Several other interviews and articles about the couples’ meet-cute dating history have also harbored inconsistencies.
Several fans have also cast their mind back to the rapper’s alleged relationship with the late great Aliyah. Rumors had it that the rapper and singer were a couple in 1999 when they were 29 and 20, respectively. Some fans, however, do not agree with this and insist that the pair’s relationship began earlier than that. Another set of rumors linked the “Forever Young” hitmaker to Rihanna, who was 17 then. However, these rumors didn’t last, as her former publicist admitted to making them up as a misguided pr stunt.
Jay-Z Reacts to the Allegations of Sexual Assault
As fans deeply dive into the stars’ relationship, the rapper dismissed the lawsuit as “blackmail.” Per CBS, in a statement responding to the filing, he said:
“My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a ‘lawyer’ named Tony Buzbee. What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle. 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!!”
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyer also denied the allegations.
Jay-Z reflected on how this lawsuit will impact his family, especially his kids. According to Daily Dot, the Roc Nation founder said:
“My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims and explain the cruelty and greed of people.”
