Beyonce has shocked her fans with a ‘name change’ following the allegations that her husband, Jay-Z aka Shawn Carter, was accused of assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

Forbes listed the singer as one of 2024’s most powerful women only days after her husband was accused. However, fans noticed that they listed her as ‘Beyonce Knowles’ instead of her official name, ‘Beyonce Knowles-Carter’. Fans have speculated that this move was a ‘soft launch name change’.

One fan wrote: ‘lemme hear y’all say UH OH’, ‘this going viral – good luck babe’, ‘Nah don’t forget the Carter!!!’ and ‘This is blowing up—good luck, love!’

Jay Z himself responded to the disturbing allegations that he assaulted a 13-year-old girl with Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Sharing a statement to Page Six, the 55-year-old said that the lawsuit is a “blackmail attempt”.

He said, of the Texas-based attorney, Tony Buzbee: “What [Buzbee] 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!!”

The rapper said that the “allegations are so heinous in nature” that the victim should “file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!!”

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

He said that he has researched the attorney and he “seems to have a pattern of these type of theatrics!”

“I have no idea how you have come to be such a deplorable human Mr. Buzbee, but I promise you I have seen your kind many times over,”.

“I’m more than prepared to deal with your type. You claim to be a marine?! Marines are known for their valor, you have neither honor nor dignity.”

He shared how the allegations were impacted his family. The rapper shares 12-year-old Blue Ivy and twins, Rumi and Sir, aged 7, with his wife, Beyoncé.

“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,” he said, referring to Blue.

“I mourn yet another loss of innocence. Children should not have to endure such at their young age. It is unfair to have to try to understand inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirit.”

He added that his “heart and support goes out to true victims in the world, who have to watch how their life story is dressed in costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser in a cheap suit.”

“You have made a terrible error in judgement thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same,” Jay added. “I’m not from your world. 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. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain. Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable.”

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team also shared a statement to the publication: “This amended complaint and the recent extortion lawsuit against Mr. Buzbee exposes his barrage of lawsuits against Mr. Combs for what they are: shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.

“As his legal team has said before, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—man or woman, adult or minor.”

In the lawsuit, the Jane Doe who was 13 at the time of the alleged crime, claimed that on September 7, 2000, she was taken to a house party in New York after the VMA awards. She claimed she started to feel “woozy” after having a drink at the party and so decided to lie down in a bedroom.

She then claimed that Jay Z and Diddy entered the room and began taking her clothes off while Combs allegedly raped her and an unnamed female celeb watched.

Diddy is currently being held in a detention centre in New York after being arrested and charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.