Piers Morgan apologizes to Jay-Z and Beyonce over ‘false claims’

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Piers Morgan has issued an apology to Jay-Z and Beyonce after singer-songwriter Jaguar Wright accused the superstar power couple of abuse.

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Wright joined Morgan last week on his Uncensored program to discuss the arrest of Sean “Diddy” Combs. But during their chat, she tried to link Jay-Z and Beyonce to Combs’ alleged criminal enterprise by claiming they also had “hundreds” of victims.

“It’s been happening in front of everyone’s faces for decades. What’s the difference between me and Judy Garland? Social media,” Wright said.

“For four years I’ve been screaming not just Diddy, but Diddy and Jay-Z are monsters,” Wright said.

Wright also claimed she was in contact with alleged “victims” she said would testify against the power duo. 

“I have three victims right now who are willing to give testimony about not only what Mr. Carter has done to them, but his wife as well,” she said. “They’re a nasty little couple. They do nasty things. Keeping people against their will. Putting people on planes while they’re unconscious … There’s a lot of things that people don’t want to talk about.”

Wright went on to call Combs a “monster” and “one of the most dangerous people I’ve ever met.” 

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But a contrite Morgan took to his show this week to say that Jay-Z and Beyonce’s lawyers have been in touch, and that Wright’s claims “were totally false and have no basis in fact.”

“The thing about platforms, the reality of the modern world is that pretty much everyone has a platform as long as they have something to say that other people want to hear. That’s why we invited (Wright) on to be interviewed. The people making these claims have an audience with or without shows like mine,” Morgan said.

“Well, Jaguar, unexpectedly, made several serious allegations about Jay-Z and Beyonce during that interview,” he continued. “As I said in the moment, they were not present to respond or defend themselves, but now they have. We had lawyers contact us to say that those claims were totally false and have no basis in fact, and we’ve therefore complied with a legal request to cut them from the original interview.”

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Morgan then issued a direct apology to the couple. “Editing interviews is not something we do lightly at a show called Uncensored,” he said, “but like the proverbial cries of fire in a crowded theatre, there are legal limits on us, too. And we apologize to Jay-Z and Beyonce.”

A lawyer for the pair told told TMZ that Morgan was given “an ultimatum” in the leadup to his on-air apology.

“There’s rumours and then there’s nonsense, and this is one step further,” attorney Alex Spiro said. “Remove that false accusation that’s demonstrably false, or a court’s going to order you to.” 

Spiro said Morgan made the right decision.

“It didn’t just harm the Carters. What he did, effectively, was to drown out the voices of actual victims in an ongoing case, in an ongoing investigation. And that was that was too much for me.”

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After numerous allegations from women accusing him of sexual assault, Combs was arrested on Sept. 16 in Manhattan and charged with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking with the accusations stretching back decades.

According to a criminal indictment, Combs, who was denied bail and remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, is accused of using his “power and prestige” to induce female victims and male sex workers into drugged-up, elaborately produced sexual performances dubbed “Freak Offs” that the rapper arranged, participated in and often recorded on video. The events would sometimes last days and Combs and victims would often receive IV fluids to recover, the indictment said.

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In the days following the Bad Boy founder’s arrest, rumours have swirled about other high-profile names that might be charged in connection with Combs’ alleged crimes.

A team of lawyers announced earlier this month that they would be filing 120 sexual assault lawsuits against Combs.

“The biggest secret in the entertainment industry, that really wasn’t a secret at all, has finally been revealed to the world,” said Tony Buzbee, one of the lead attorneys, at a Houston news conference. “The wall of silence has now been broken.”

Buzbee told TMZ that “big celebrities … are going to be sued for allegedly helping him carry out and cover up sexual assaults, unless they settle out of court.”

“In every single case, especially cases like this … because it’s in the best interests of the victim, we attempt to resolve these matters without the filing of a public lawsuit and we’ve done that already with a handful of individuals, many of which you’re heard of before,” Buzbee said, according to a report published by the Daily Mail.

Combs, 54, has pleaded not guilty to charges filed against him last month.

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