Jay-Z Amends Extortion Lawsuit To Include Defamation Claim Against Rape Accuser's Lawyer
By Favour Adegoke on December 24, 2024 at 2:15 PM EST
Jay-Z has escalated his legal dispute with his rape accuser’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, by amending his extortion suit to include a defamation claim.
The duo have engaged in a war of words and motions since the rapper was named in a sexual assault suit the Texas-based attorney filed on behalf of a Jane Doe.
In the amended filing, the music mogul outlined several reasons he believes Buzbee defamed him, to which the attorney responded by calling the claim "patently frivolous."
Jay-Z’s Lawyers Cite Multiple Instances Of The Rapper Being Defamed
Last Friday, Jay-Z took a more aggressive stance in his legal battle against Tony Buzbee by amending his extortion suit to include a defamation claim, per Rolling Stone.
In the amended filing, the Roc Nation founder’s attorneys accused the Texas-based lawyer of launching a defamation campaign against Jay-Z, citing media threats made to “anyone who may have ever come into contact with [Sean ‘Diddy’] Combs,” who at the time was facing multiple civil lawsuits from Buzbee.
They further argued that Buzbee’s intent was to defame Jay-Z, as he liked posts suggesting the rapper's involvement in Combs' alleged sexual assaults. Evidence of these "likes" where included in the filing..
To also support their claim, Jay-Z's attorneys also referenced a December 10 TMZ article, in which Buzbee was seen discussing the possibility of filing a criminal complaint against the rapper.
“These were no idle comments,” Jay-Z’s lawyers wrote in the amended filing. “Buzbee’s words were carefully calculated to leave the public with one unavoidable conclusion: that Mr. Carter was facing imminent criminal prosecution for rape. This is defamation per se because he directly and falsely accused Mr. Carter of committing the horrendous criminal act of rape.”
The Rapper's Lawyers Provided More Context To Demand Letter From Rape Accuser's Attorney
In the amended filing, Jay-Z’s lawyers provided more details about the demand letter they received from Buzbee before he amended his client’s rape suit to name the rapper.
They argued that the contents of the letter were akin to a “gun” aimed at Jay-Z, citing earlier media comments from Buzbee in which he threatened to file criminal complaints and publicly shame a "long list" of celebrities allegedly connected to Diddy.
The attorneys added about the the letter: “They were demanding that Mr. Carter either: (a) pay ‘something of substance’ to stop Defendants from making public the wildly false allegations of sexual assault that would subject Mr. Carter to opprobrium and irreparably harm his reputation, family, career and livelihood, or (2) endure that financial and personal ruin. Defendants’ statements and correspondence made clear the immediate and extensive threat of exposure if Mr. Carter failed to pay.”
The filing also noted that Buzbee further cornered Jay-Z in the demand letter by including a two-week deadline to commit to a “confidential mediation.”
Tony Buzbee Slammed The Lawsuit As ‘Frivolous’
Shortly after the defamation claim was filed, Buzbee issued a response, slamming the claim as “patently frivolous.”
He also expressed his expectation that the claim would be "dismissed" while emphasizing that he has never spoken about the music mogul in a defamatory manner.
“I’ve never said a word about him. This is just another attempt to bully and intimidate me. It just won’t work,” he told the outlet.
The Texas-based attorney had previously denied that the demand letter he sent to Jay-Z was an attempt at blackmail, claiming that the alleged victim never sought any money from the music mogul.
At the time, he also accused Jay-Z of attempting to bully and harass both him and the alleged victim he is representing.
The Alleged Victim's Attorney Accused Jay-Z Of Inciting Former Clients Against Him
Recently, Buzbee was also sued by several individuals on various grounds, including allegedly transmitting a venereal disease to one and withholding a settlement payment from another.
Linking these cases, Buzbee suggested that Jay-Z was behind the surge of lawsuits against him, accusing the rapper of inciting former clients to sue him.
He told TMZ, "Jay-Z’s investigators contacted more than forty former clients they apparently found on Venmo. They were each offered $1,000 to sue me. We have the investigators caught on tape admitting they gave this 'client' money to bring this case."
The attorney has since filed a suit against Roc Nation and its lawyers, claiming a "conspiracy" to "obstruct justice," which Roc Nation later described as an attempt to "distract and deflect attention" from the extortion case.
Jay-Z Wants His Rape Accuser To 'Preserve' Relevant Evidence
In a filing obtained by Fox News Digital, Jay-Z's lawyer, Alex Spiro, expressed fears that the rapper's accuser may destroy evidence in their case after the alleged victim admitted to making mistakes in her allegations.
As part of the docs, the attorney urged the court to compel the anonymous accuser and Buzbee, to "preserve all evidence relevant to this case."
Jay-Z's lawyer also poked holes in the alleged victim's case, referencing the mistakes she made in her allegations during an interview.
This includes a claim made by Jane Doe that the assault occurred in a private residence, which, according to Jay-Z's lawyer, does not exist.
"The timeline, location, and occurrence of events alleged in Plaintiff's complaint are rendered impossible by these admissions," Jay-Z's lawyer also penned in the documents. "Taken together, the factual inconsistencies, timeline impossibilities, and the lack of corroborating evidence make Plaintiff's allegations … wholly unreliable."
