Jay Z sues lawyer and former accuser over dropped sexual assault allegations
Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has accused the defendants of malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and civil conspiracy.
Music mogul and rapper Jay-Z has initiated legal action against attorney Tony Buzbee, David Fortney, and their client, identified as Jane Doe, following the dismissal of a sexual assault lawsuit initially filed against him. Court documents from Alabama, as cited by People magazine, reveal that the lawsuit was filed yesterday, on Monday.
According to the report, Shawn Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z, has presented three claims against all three defendants: malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and civil conspiracy. Additionally, he has lodged a defamation claim specifically against Jane Doe. The rapper is pursuing assumed, actual, and punitive damages in the case.
In his legal filing, Jay-Z contends that the original allegations of rape were knowingly “false” and “malicious.” He further argues that the lawsuit was “strategically and tactically calculated and timed to inflict maximum pain and suffering” upon him. The initial lawsuit, which was submitted in October 2024, alleged that Jay-Z and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty in 2000. However, Buzbee and co-counsel Antigone Curis voluntarily withdrew the case on February 1.
Jay-Z’s latest lawsuit asserts that the October claim was based on misinformation provided by Jane Doe and her legal representatives. According to the filing, Jane Doe and her lawyers “launched to extort" the rapper "through a menacing ‘private’ ‘demand letter,’ ” further alleging that the defendants engaged in “a desperate attempt to leverage Mr. Carter into an extortionate payoff.”
The legal document also states that Jane Doe “voluntarily admitted” to Jay-Z’s representative that “Carter did not assault her” and that Buzbee had “pushed her to go forward with the false narrative of the assault by Mr. Carter in order to leverage a maximum payday.” The filing concludes that Jay-Z is pursuing legal action “to hold Doe accountable for her wilful defamation per se and her malicious prosecution of knowingly false allegations against” him.
