Jay-Z Accuser: My Attorney Made Me Do It

Jay-Z and Diddy Combs

Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, has filed a defamation lawsuit against an anonymous woman, referred to as Jane Doe, and her attorney, Tony Buzbee, following the dismissal of a rape lawsuit she had brought against him and Sean "Diddy" Combs. 

The original lawsuit, filed in October 2024 and amended in December 2024, alleged that Jay-Z and Combs raped the woman when she was 13 years old at an afterparty following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. However, on February 14, 2025, Jane Doe voluntarily dismissed her case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.

In response, Jay-Z initiated a defamation lawsuit this month, in a federal court in Alabama, claiming that Jane Doe admitted to his representatives that her accusations were false. According to the suit, she allegedly told Jay-Z’s private investigators that Buzbee pressured her into pursuing the claims despite her admitting that Jay-Z did not assault her. 

Jay-Z’s legal action also names Buzbee and another attorney, David Fortney, as co-defendants, accusing them of orchestrating a scheme involving "malicious prosecution, abuse of process, civil conspiracy, and defamation" to extort money and damage his reputation.

Jay-Z alleges significant personal and professional harm from the initial accusations, including a reported $20 million annual loss in business contracts for his company, Roc Nation, and emotional distress to his family, particularly his children.