Why is Jay-Z suing Tony Buzbee? Rapper accuses the Houston attorney of extortion and more

Rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter has filed a lawsuit against Texas-based lawyer Tony Buzbee on February 10 alleging that he intentionally caused emotional anguish, engaged in civil extortion, and defamed him. The action against the rapper was filed on the day of the Mufasa movie's premiere, in which his daughter played a pivotal role.

This happened four months after a woman claimed that when she was 13 years old, music moguls Diddy Combs and Carter had r*ped her. However, just four days after Jay-Z's lawsuit, on February 14, she retracted her complaint.

As per BBC’s February 15 report, on Friday, February 14, the woman's attorney issued a letter to the U.S. district court in Manhattan, stating that the civil suit "is voluntarily dismissed with prejudice."

Furthermore, according to NBC's December 14 article, when the lawsuit was re-filed in December 2024 to include Jay-Z's name, the plaintiff and her lawyers acknowledged to the outlet that her account contained inconsistencies.

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Jay-Z had refuted the claims from the beginning

Jay-Z filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles on February 10 in response to the s*xual assault lawsuit, alleging that lawyer Tony Buzbee purposefully caused him emotional pain by bringing up the accusations.

Furthermore, Jay-Z denied the charges, calling them "false and ridiculous in every respect." Carter also claimed that Buzbee was looking for "something of substance" to end the "situation," and his legal team interpreted the attorney's messages as blatant attempts at extortion.

Jay-Z's legal statement went on to explain how the timing of the case compelled him to make a tough decision. According to a People's Magazine article on February 15, the rapper stated in his statement:

“I felt that Mr. Buzbee was placing a gun to my head—that I either bow to his demands or endure personal and financial ruin.”

According to Carter, hours before his daughter Blue Ivy's big night at the premiere of Mufasa: The Lion King, in which she voiced Kiara, the lawsuit was purposefully filed. According to the affidavit, the rapper has been experiencing severe "mental anguish" since the lawsuit was filed in October 2024, and he has lost allegedly $20 million in contracts as a result.

Meanwhile, according to Variety's February 14 report, the rapper's lawyer Alex Spiro issued a statement on his own behalf, which read:

“The false case against Jay-Z, that never should have been brought, has been dismissed with prejudice. By standing up in the face of heinous and false allegations, Jay has done what few can – he pushed back, he never settled, he never paid 1 red penny, he triumphed and cleared his name.”

Additionally, In a statement posted on X on February 15, Jay-Z's entertainment company, Roc Nation, called this a "victory." The statement further asserted that this issue caused trauma for his wife and children.

It went on to say:

“Today is a victory. The frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations have been dismissed. This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere. The fictional tale they created was laughable, if not for the seriousness of the claims.”

It continued:

“I would not wish this experience on anyone. The trauma that my wife, my children, loved ones and I have endured can never be dismissed. This 1-800 lawyer gets to file a suit hiding 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…”

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Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs were accused of s*xually abusing a 13-year-old girl during an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty in 2000, according to the lawsuit, which was brought by Tony Buzbee and Antigone Curis.

However, after a number of contradictions in the evidence was discovered, Buzbee and Curis voluntarily dismissed the case on February 14. On the other hand, neither the anonymous woman nor Buzbee has said anything about the same as of yet.