Jay-Z Files Defamation Suit Against Attorney and Rape Accuser, Labeling Case a “Malicious Conspiracy”

Jay-Z has sued the woman who accused him of sexual assault for defamation, claiming that her accusations were made up as part of an extortion plot. In addition, her lawyer Anthony Buzbee, another lawyer David Fortney, and The Buzbee Law Firm are named as defendants in the March 3 case filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

Jay-Z, whose actual name is Shawn Carter, claims in the complaint that Jane Doe and her legal team attacked his reputation in a “false, malicious, and strategically calculated” manner. According to the lawsuit, on November 5, 2024, Jane Doe first threatened legal action unless Jay-Z agreed to a settlement in a private demand letter. She publicly named him in a lawsuit after he refused. According to Jay-Z’s legal team, her accusations were “impossible and indeed absurd,” and even NBC News pointed out inconsistencies in her remarks.

According to the lawsuit, Buzbee “pushed [her] towards going forward with the false story against Mr. Carter… to make the case better and get them more money,” even though Jane Doe privately acknowledged that Jay-Z had never physically abused her. According to the lawsuit, “Buzbee brought Jay-Z into it” even though he was aware that the allegations were untrue. Inconsistencies in Jane Doe’s claims are cited by Jay-Z’s lawyers. For example, NBC News refuted Doe’s claim that she spoke with singer Benji Madden at the purported afterparty by establishing that Madden was in a different city at the time.

On February 14, 2025, Jane Doe’s complaint was finally dismissed with prejudice, meaning she is unable to refile it, following months of legal pressure. However, Jay-Z’s legal team contends that the harm to his economic empire and reputation had already been done. The case claims that Roc Nation lost more than $20 million as a result of the accusations, which also had a detrimental effect on commercial possibilities and deals. According to the lawsuit, “Mr. Carter suffered actual and special damages, including harm to his personal and professional reputation, harm to his business entity Roc Nation, out-of-pocket loss, and emotional harm, humiliation, and harassment, as a result of Doe’s frivolous lawsuit and its demonstrably false allegations.”

Jay-Z is currently pursuing financial compensation for civil conspiracy, malicious prosecution, and defamation. In addition, his lawsuit highlights Buzbee’s history of utilizing high-profile lawsuits to exert pressure on the media, pointing out that he may have wrongly filed more than 20 additional cases in the Southern District of New York. “The extortion and abuse of Mr. Carter by Doe and her lawyers must stop,” the complaint states, making it apparent that Jay-Z would not allow the matter to go unchecked.