Jay-Z is suing Tony Buzbee, the lawyer of his accuser who alleges he sexually assaulted her when she was 13-years outdated, for defamation.
On December 9, it was reported that Jay-Z – actual title Shawn Carter – was named in a lawsuit which alleges the rape of a 13-year-old lady in 2000 by the rapper and Diddy, actual title Sean Combs.
In a press release issued by way of Roc Nation, Carter known as the allegations “heinous in nature” and dismissed them as a “blackmail try”. He implored lawyer Tony Buzbee to file the lawsuit as a “prison criticism, not a civil one”.
The rapper then filed a courtroom letter looking for the dismissal of the lawsuit and the identification reveal of the accuser, whereas sustaining his innocence.
Now, Carter’s authorized crew has turned their consideration to Buzbee, a nationwide trial legal professional who claims to signify greater than 120 alleged victims. Buzbee has additionally mentioned he’ll go after different “high-profile” celebrities who he says are concerned or complicit within the alleged abuse.
Carter is claiming that Buzbee’s demand letter solely gave a two-week window to decide to a “confidential mediation” relating to an alleged female and male sufferer. Each have claimed they had been drugged and raped once they had been minors.
Buzbee’s letter to Carter allegedly reads: “It has been my expertise that when somebody does this to a sufferer as soon as, the chances are high that they’ve executed the identical or related issues to others.”
Attorneys for the rapper alleged that Buzbee’s purchasers had been looking for “‘one thing of substance’ by means of a settlement”, and that if Carter couldn’t attain an settlement, Buzbee would “take a special course.”
“Briefly, Defendants positioned a gun to Mr. Carter’s head,” the lawsuit claims. “They had been demanding that Mr. Carter both: (a) pay ‘one thing of substance’ to cease Defendants from making public the wildly false allegations of sexual assault that will topic Mr. Carter to opprobrium and irreparably hurt his repute, household, profession and livelihood, or (2) endure that monetary and private spoil. Defendants’ statements and correspondence made clear the instant and intensive risk of publicity if Mr. Carter did not pay.”
The rapper’s legal professionals declare that Buzbee started defaming Carter in October, the place they accuse him of a “media campaign to threaten and intimidate anybody who might have ever come into contact with Combs.” The lawsuit contains screenshots of Buzbee’s social media exercise, which claims to indicate him liking a submit that speculated Carter was concerned in Combs’ alleged sexual assaults.
Carter’s attorneys additionally reference a TMZ article from December 10 the place Buzbee allegedly indicated that his consumer would possibly file a prison criticism towards Carter in New York. “These had been no idle feedback,” the lawsuit alleges. “Buzbee’s phrases had been fastidiously calculated to go away the general public with one unavoidable conclusion: that Mr. Carter was dealing with imminent prison prosecution for rape. That is defamation per se as a result of he immediately and falsely accused Mr. Carter of committing the horrendous prison act of rape.”
Buzbee has known as the declare “patently frivolous” and added that it “can be dismissed,” per Rolling Stone. “I’ve by no means mentioned a phrase about him. That is simply one other try to bully and intimidate me. It simply gained’t work.”
The brand new defamation declare from Carter follows Buzbee submitting a lawsuit towards Roc Nation earlier this week, the place he accused the corporate and its legal professionals of utilizing “shadowy operatives” and promising to pay Buzbee’s former purchasers to illegally entice them into submitting “frivolous” claims towards him.
Roc Nation has denied that accusation, saying the lawsuit is “baloney” and a “pathetic try to distract and deflect consideration” from the case. “Mr. Carter is just not somebody who could be intimidated,” Carter’s legal professionals mentioned on Friday (December 20), including: “He filed this lawsuit to pre-emptively name out Buzbee for the miscreant that he’s.”
Earlier this month, the unnamed accuser, recognized in courtroom paperwork as Jane Doe, admitted to creating “some errors” in her recollection of that night time.
In a video interview with NBC Information, the lady, now 35, recalled the alleged occasions of the night time from her reminiscence as outlined within the lawsuit.
“We’ll proceed to vet her claims and gather corroborating knowledge to the extent it exists. As a result of we have now interrogated her intensely, she has even agreed to undergo a polygraph. I’ve by no means had a consumer recommend that earlier than.”
He added that “we at all times do out finest to vet every declare made, simply as we did on this case,” whereas claiming that the entire ordeal has been “extraordinarily distressing” for the lady, who has allegedly “skilled seizures” and has sought “medical therapy because of the stress.”
In a press release, Carter instructed NBC Information that the “incident didn’t occur” however Buzbee “filed it in courtroom and doubled down within the press.”
“True Justice is coming. We combat FROM victory, not FOR victory,” the rapper continued. “This was over earlier than it started. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t understand it but, however, quickly.”
The accuser is looking for unspecified damages, with the lawsuit filed below New York’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Safety Act.
Earlier this month, the NFL commented on the state of its relationship with Jay-Z and Roc Nation amid the allegations, stating that their “relationship’s not altering” with Roc Nation.