Music mogul and Businessman, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter has filed a defamation lawsuit against a woman who accused him of sexual assault and her attorney, Tony Buzbee.
The lawsuit, filed in an Alabama court, comes after the woman, identified as Jane Doe, accused Jay-Z of raping her at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty in 2000 when she was 13 years old.
Jay-Z has firmly denied the allegations, calling them an attempt at extortion, alleging that the claims are false and have caused significant damage to his reputation and business.
According to court documents, Jay-Z asserts that the accusations, which gained attention following Doe’s interview with NBC News, were fabricated.
His legal team claims that Doe admitted to his representatives that the alleged assault never happened and that Buzbee had pressured her into making the false claims.
The lawsuit outlines multiple claims, including malicious prosecution, abuse of process, civil conspiracy, and defamation, and seeks damages for reputational harm and financial losses.
Jay-Z alleges that the allegations have cost his company, Roc Nation, at least $20 million in lost business.
This legal action follows Doe’s initial lawsuit, filed in October 2024, in which she accused Jay-Z and music executive Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual assault.
That lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed by Doe’s attorneys in February 2025, but Jay-Z is now seeking legal redress for what he describes as a deliberate attack on his character and livelihood.
Attorney Tony Buzbee, known for high-profile cases, has denied the allegations in Jay-Z’s lawsuit, calling them baseless and arguing that the defamation claim lacks legal merit.
