Shawn Carter, aka rapper Jay-Z, is suing the woman who recently withdrew her legal action accusing him of rape.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Alabama, claims that the woman “voluntarily admitted” to being pressured into making false allegations as part of what Jay-Z describes as an “evil conspiracy” aimed at extorting money and tarnishing his reputation.
The anonymous woman initially filed her lawsuit in October and refiled it in December, alleging that Jay-Z and fellow rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs raped her when she was just 13 years old, following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Both rappers have vehemently denied the allegations.
Jay-Z’s defamation suit also targets the woman’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, and his co-counsel, David Fortney, accusing them of orchestrating the lawsuit. Buzbee has made headlines for representing multiple clients alleging sexual misconduct against Combs, who is currently facing federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
According to Jay-Z’s legal team, the woman informed them that her lawyers pressured her to make the false claims. The suit states, “Buzbee brought Jay-Z into it,” and despite her admission that Jay-Z “did not sexually assault [her],” it alleges that Buzbee “pushed [her] towards going forward” with the false narrative to strengthen the case and extort more money.
Jay-Z’s lawsuit further claims that Buzbee’s firm failed to properly vet the allegations and points to the woman’s history of mental health issues and an assault charge. In response, Buzbee has denied any wrongdoing, asserting that Jay-Z’s team has attempted to intimidate the woman into retracting her statements.
In a statement to BBC News, Buzbee said, “Shawn Carter’s investigators have repeatedly harassed, threatened, and harangued this poor woman for weeks, trying to intimidate her and make her recant her story. She won’t—instead, she has stated repeatedly she stands by her claims.”
