Jay-Z launches legal action against Jane Doe and lawyers who accused him of sexual assault

Rap superstar Jay-Z has launched a defamation lawsuit against a woman who claimed he assaulted her when she was 13.

Jay-Z has launched a defamation lawsuit against the woman who accused him of sexual assault, alleging she has admitted to fabricating her explosive allegations.

The music mogul’s legal action against Jane Doe and her lawyers Tony Buzbee and David Fortney comes after the woman’s civil lawsuit, in which claimed he and Sean “Diddy” Combs raped her when she was 13, was voluntarily dropped a few weeks ago.

The rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, alleges the woman and her lawyers were involved in an “evil conspiracy” to extort him with the “wildly horrific” rape claim, according to legal documents obtained by Rolling Stone.

Jane Doe and her lawyers filed their blockbuster case against Carter late last year, alleging he and Diddy had drugged and sexually assaulted her at a party after the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards in New York.

Jay-Z’s lawyers claim the woman has admitted her assault claims are false but her lawyer says she stands by her story. Picture: AFP.

The claim was a shocking addition to the raft of racketeering and sex trafficking charges against Combs, and came as speculation erupted about other celebrities who might have participated in abusive behaviour at his infamous parties.

Both Carter and Combs strenuously denied the rape allegation. The Jane Doe civil suit was dismissed last month, without explanation or any settlement from Jay-Z.

The end of that matter came after the woman granted an interview to NBC where several inconsistencies about her account of the alleged assault arose, including her claim Benji Madden was present at the after-party yet he was proved to be on tour in a different state at the time.

Her father also disputed her suggestion he had driven several hours to pick her up after the alleged incident.

In the new lawsuit lodged in Alabama, Jay-Z’s lawyers allege the woman has admitted her story about the assault was false.

Jay-Z has launched defamation proceedings to clear his name. Picture: AFP.

“Doe has now voluntarily admitted directly to representatives of Mr. Carter that the story brought before the world in court and on global television was just that: a false, malicious story,” Carter’s lawsuit claims.

“She has admitted that Mr. Carter did not assault her; and that indeed it was Buzbee himself – whom she met for the first time at a coffee shop in Houston on the day of her maliciously false NBC News interview – who pushed her to go forward with the false narrative of the assault by Mr. Carter in order to leverage a maximum payday.”

Buzbee, a prominent lawyer in Texas who boasts he has made billions in damages for his clients, became a central figure in the explosion of civil cases against Combs last year, announcing he had 120 clients who had complaints against the hip hop figure.

The lawyer hit back at the new legal action from Jay-Z, denying Jane Doe had admitted her story was false.

Both Carter and Combs, pictured in 2004 with Usher and Mariah Carey denied Jane Doe’s claims. Picture: Getty.

“This case is baloney and has no legal merit,” Buzbee said in a statement to Billboard.

“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.

“These same group of investigators have been caught on tape offering to pay people to sue me and my firm. This is just another attempt to intimidate and bully this poor woman that we will deal with in due course.”

Jay-Z had already launched a legal counteroffensive against Buzbee in Los Angeles last year in an attempt to protect his reputation, career and family.

The rapper claimed extortion and defamation, after the lawyer publicly revealed details about the Jane Doe civil suit.

In a recent hearing, a Los Angeles judge said the defamation claim was strong enough to proceed to trial but he would likely dismiss the extortion claim without further evidence.

As news of Jay-Z’s lawsuit against Jane Doe broke, he and wife Beyonce were hosting a star-studded Oscars after-party at the iconic Chateau Marmont hotel, celebrating alongside guests including Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner, Leonardo DiCaprio and Chappell Roan.

Originally published as Jay-Z launches legal action against Jane Doe and lawyers who accused him of sexual assault