Jay Z has denied allegations of sexual abuse after the US rapper was accused of the crime in a lawsuit that claims he, along with Sean 'Diddy' Combs drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl at a party in 2000. The accuser says she was abused at a house part and an unnamed female celebrity was also present in the room at the time. Jay Z, real name Shawn Carter, dismissed the claim as 'blackmail' - Combs has also denied the allegation.
The allegation comes after Diddy was been indicted with charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution in September. He denies the accusations and is currently awaiting trial in the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn - he has twice been denied bail.
For some, the Diddy's alleged crimes come as a huge shock. For others, they seem to confirm what they claim to have already known for years. One such person is the noughties singer Jaguar Wright, whose real name is Jacquelyn Suzette Wright, who has never shied away from accusing of Combs and Carter of serious crimes. Combs has denied all federal charges and his attorney says he plans to plead not guilty in court.
But who is Jaguar Wright and how does she know Diddy and Jay Z? Here's what you need to know about the supposed whistleblower.
Who is Jaguar Wright?
Jaguar Wright is an American musician who was first spotted by The Roots in 1998 and later went on tour with them. In 2001, she was a back up singer for Jay Z on Unplugged on MTV. She went on to release two studio albums and her songs include 'I Can't Wait', 'Same Sh*t Different Day' and 'Free'.
She has featured on songs with Jay Z, The Roots, Curse and Blackalicious.
In 2020, however, Jaguar made headlines for speaking about her fallouts with artists including Jill Scott, Erykah Badu and Mary J Blige. She also alleged that her then boyfriend Common, real name Lonnie Rashid Lynn, sexually assaulted her after performing at a concert in the mid noughties. He has denied the allegations and said he was 'disappointed and hurt' by the singer for making them.
Jaguar's name popped back up in 2022 when she did an interview speaking about the dark side of the music industry and discussed some of the allegations against Combs.
How does Jaguar Wright know P Diddy and Jay Z?
With so many incriminating stories and allegations, people might wonder how Jaguar Wright actually knows Sean Combs. Jaguar was part of the music industry in the 90s and noughties and was often running in the same circles as the music mogul.
She also claims to have been to 'Diddy's parties' and witnessed how the events operate. She has even suggested that she went to parties with the intention of rescuing potential victims. In a video shared to social media she asked, 'Who is going to help them? What HR department do you know that has worked for any of these labels?'.
What did Jaguar Wright say in her interview with Piers Morgan?
On 3 October, Jaguar Wright appeared on Piers Morgan: Uncensored and discussed her various conspiracy theories regarding the Sean Combs trial and his alleged associates. She described Combs as a 'victim making machine'.
She claims that Combs is a 'monster', as is his friend and former colleague Carter. Adding that Jay Z and his wife Beyoncé are a 'nasty couple' who do 'nasty things' and said 'there's a lot people don't want to talk about'.
Speaking to Piers about Jay Z's silence following Combs' arrest she said, 'He starts little fires everywhere, forces everyone involved to go and carry water while he sneaks away without a response.' Jaguar then starred into the camera and added, 'That changes now Shawn. You must respond. You have no choice.'
Piers then asked if she considers Combs to be dangerous and she responded, 'I think he is one of the dangerous people I've ever met.'
The presenter then put forward some of the criticism leveraged at Jaguar, with people questioning if she even knows Combs given that there aren't any photographs of them together. To this she responded, 'I would never take a picture with the devil. Everyone knew he was the devil. He's been the devil for 30 years.'
She then claimed Combs has evidence of all his alleged 'accomplices' and says 'anybody who thinks he's not going to talk is crazy'. Jaguar also suggested that the allegations of the way sex workers were drugged and abused at Combs' 'freak off' parties are true.
There are currently criminal convictions that suggests any of the allegations and accusations put forward by Jaguar are true. Combs' attorney says he plans to plead not guilty to all federal charges in court and he has denied all allegations made against him.
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, covering TV, celebrity interviews, news and features.