Labelling the accusations “heinous”, Carter suggested that they put in “a criminal complaint, not a civil one”. Though a criminal case carries the risk of a jail sentence if the accused is found guilty whereas a civil case carries only the risk of financial punishment, the burden of proof is much higher than in a civil one.

“Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away,” Carter continued. “Would you not agree these alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case?”

Combs was charged in September with racketeering, sex trafficking and other offences, which he denies, and is being held in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Centre.

The allegations were typical of Buzbee, claimed Carter, labelling him a lawyer prone to “a pattern of these type of theatrics”, who was an “ambulance chaser in a cheap suit”, and a man who displays “neither honour nor dignity”.

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This masthead sought a response from Buzbee.

Carter added that his “heart and support goes out to true victims” but his primary concern was for his own children, who would be exposed to “inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirit”. He and his wife, Beyoncé, would have no choice but “to sit our children down … and explain the cruelty and greed of people”.

The civil lawsuit that names Carter was originally filed in October in New York, naming only Combs as defendant. It was refiled on Sunday to also include Carter.