Jay-Z sues former accuser and attorneys Tony Buzbee and David Fortney for defamation, claiming their allegations were "false" and "malicious"

Jay-Z (a.k.a. Shawn Carter) recently filed a defamation lawsuit against his former accuser and her attorneys, just days after she voluntarily withdrew her case against the rapper. Per a complaint filed in an Alabama court on Monday, March 03, 2025, the woman "voluntarily admitted" to Hov's team that the assault didn't take place, reported Billboard.

Trigger warning: This article mentions s*xual assault. Reader's discretion is advised.

For the unversed, the Jane Doe accuser initially filed a s*xual assault complaint in October 2024 against Diddy. However, in December, her lawyer, Tony Buzbee, refiled it, naming Carter as a co-defendant. The victim, 13 at the time, alleged that both rappers took turns r*ping her during an MTV VMA after-party in 2000.

Jay-Z, for his part, vehemently denied the allegations. He criticized Buzbee for trying to extort settlements from innocent celebrities through blackmail by tying them to Diddy. It is worth noting that Buzbee is the same lawyer who has filed over a dozen s*xual assault lawsuits against Diddy since last October.

In Monday's lawsuit, Hov claimed that Doe and Buzbee committed a "civil conspiracy" by making false and defamatory allegations against him for financial gain. Quoting the lawsuit, Billboard wrote:

"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."

However, it remains unclear when Jane Doe "voluntarily admitted" that her story was fabricated and in what context she made the admission.

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Jay-Z's lawsuit cites Jane Doe's December 2024 NBC News interview, where she admitted to inconsistencies in her memory

Jay-Z's latest lawsuit against the former accuser and her attorneys accuses them of 'civil conspiracy' against him (Image via Getty)

In December 2024, Jane Doe was interviewed by NBC News, where she admitted to inconsistencies in her story. At the time, she stated that she may have "made a mistake in identifying" her accuser, as not all "faces were clear." However, she stood by her claims.

Last month, her case against Jay-Z and Diddy was dismissed after her attorney filed to "voluntarily withdraw" the case with "prejudice" (it cannot be refiled). At the time, no explanation was given, nor was the case settled.

Though Hov celebrated the "victory," he criticized Tony Buzbee, stating:

"(He) gets to file a suit behind Jane Doe, and when they quickly realize that the money grab is going to fail, they get to walk away with no repercussions. The system has failed."

In Monday's complaint, Hov claimed that Buzbee and his co-counsel David Fortney were motivated by "greed," naming both men and Buzbee's firm as co-defendants in his lawsuit. He alleged that Buzbee "pushed" the woman to go forward with the "false narrative" in order to "leverage a maximum payday."

Accusing the defendants of "malicious prosecution," "conspiracy," and "abuse of process," he alleged that they collectively caused harm to his personal and professional reputation. According to Billboard, the suit also cites Jane Doe's interview with NBC News.

In a statement made to Billboard, Tony Buzbee slammed Jay-Z's suit, calling it "baloney" and meritless, adding:

"Shawn Carter’s (a.k.a. Jay-Z) investigators have repeatedly harassed, threatened and harangued this poor woman for weeks trying to intimidate her and make her recant her story."

The Houston-based attorney noted that Jane Doe repeatedly stood by her claims. He alleged that the said investigators have been "caught on tape" offering money to people to sue him and his firm.

"This is just another attempt to intimidate and bully this poor woman that we will deal with in due course," Buzbee told Billboard.

According to Billboard, Jay-Z's filing claimed that he was facing "extortionate threats" from Buzbee. The latter allegedly warned him that if he revealed Jane Doe's statement admitting her story was false, they would issue a release claiming the woman was "harassed" by Hov's team. Buzbee also allegedly added that they would claim Jane Doe only dropped her case as she was "afraid for her life."

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Jay-Z has not publicly reacted to Tony Buzbee's statement.