The Rihanna story that Jay-Z doesn’t want you to remember.

A resurfaced story about how Rihanna was discovered by Jay-Z (aka Shawn Carter) is being viewed under a different lens in light of a new lawsuit being levelled at the music mogul.

Last week, Jay-Z was accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a 13-year-old girl with Sean 'Diddy' Combs at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party in 2000.

The rapper has denied all allegations, with his lawyer, Alex Spiro, telling NBC News that "this case needs to be dismissed, and Mr. Carter's name needs to be fully cleared".

Since the allegations came out, the internet has been digging up some old interviews about Jay-Z, and one rather odd comment from Rihanna kept coming up.

When Rihanna was just 16 or 17 years old, she was signed to Def Jam while Jay-Z was president and CEO of the label.

In an old interview from The Tyra Banks Show (which has been widely shared on Reddit), she described the audition process with Jay-Z and Def Jam chairman Antonio 'L.A' Reid at the label's office.

Rihanna and Jay Z at an event in 2008. Image: Getty.

After being told they were "interested," she went on to add, "Then he said, 'There are two ways to leave here: either through the door with the deal signed or through this window, and we're on the 29th floor.'"

This echoed a story Rihanna told The Guardian in 2007, adding that Def Jam "locked me into the office till 3 am," and described the process as "very flattering".

Jay-Z confirmed this story in a TV interview, where he said that he kept the then-teenage Rihanna in their office and "we didn't let her leave the office till three in the morning, when that contract got signed."

Watch the moment Jay-Z called out the Grammys for snubbing Beyonce. Post continues after video.

While Rihanna didn't raise any issues over whether it's appropriate for two adult men to keep a teenage girl in an office until she agrees to do what they want, it's a story that doesn't sit well, especially in light of the recent allegations.

"Is it weird that he dealt with her at 16 years old?" an interviewer asked Rihanna's former publicist, Jonathan Hay, in a recent interview.

"For sure, it's weird," Hay replied. "When you think about Jay-Z, he's been business partners with Harvey Weinstein, Diddy and R Kelly… yo, that's some f**ked up sh*t."

Rihanna and Jay-Z went on to become longtime collaborators. When Jay-Z left Def Jam in 2008 and started his own label, Roc Nation, Rihanna signed on with Jay-Z's label in 2014.

Jay-Z has also produced and featured on some of Rihanna's biggest hits, including 'Umbrella', 'Run This Town' and 'Talk That Talk'.

In the early stages of Rihanna's career, rumours ran wild that Jay-Z had cheated on Beyoncé with the Barbados singer. Rihanna's ex-publicist, Hay, has since confirmed he started the rumour to get the singer extra press at the time.

Feature image: Getty.