Rapper Jay-Z has filed a lawsuit against attorney Tony Buzbee, David Fortney, and his client Jane Doe over the previously dropped alleged sexual assault suit against him. In the Alabama court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Jay-Z proposes three causes of action: malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and civil conspiracy against all three defendants.
Jay-Z claims that the initial allegations of rape were knowingly “false” and “malicious.” He alleges that the sexual assault suit was strategically calculated to inflict maximum pain and suffering on him. The filing also states that the Jane Doe and her lawyers launched a menacing demand letter to extort money from Jay-Z, making a desperate attempt to leverage him into an extortionate payoff.
The court documents add that the Jane Doe “voluntarily admitted” to Jay-Z’s representative that he did not assault her, while Buzbee allegedly pushed her to go forward with the false narrative. Jay-Z brings this lawsuit to hold the Doe accountable for her willful defamation per se and malicious prosecution of knowingly false allegations against him.
This is not the first time Jay-Z has sued Buzbee; in December 2024, he filed a lawsuit accusing Buzbee of civil extortion, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Los Angeles judge signaled that the defamation claim has merit to proceed to trial, but is leaning toward dismissing the extortion claim.
The recent filing comes weeks after Jay-Z’s Monday, Feb. 10 filing, alleging Buzbee intentionally inflicted emotional distress on him by filing the lawsuit. Jay-Z also alleges that he lost $20 million in contracts due to the false allegations and has been going through deep “mental anguish” since the lawsuit was filed.
The October suit was originally filed against Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs, claiming they raped a 13-year-old girl at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty in 2000. The suit was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice on Feb. 14 by Buzbee and fellow attorney Antigone Curis due to several alleged inconsistencies.
Source: https://people.com/jay-z-sues-former-accuser-and-her-lawyer-for-defamation-over-sexual-assault-allegations-11690161