Jay-Z’s Lawyers Said He ‘Faces a Gun to His Head’ With Rape Accusations
In December, Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs faced accusations made by an unnamed woman. She alleges they raped her when she was 13 years old. Jay-Z has denied the allegations laid out in the lawsuit. Initially, Jay-Z’s connection to the case was not public knowledge. The attorney for the plaintiff reportedly offered him the opportunity to settle the matter monetarily. Jay-Z’s lawyers claim this put him in an impossible position.
Jay-Z’s lawyers claimed the accusations against him put him in a difficult position
Weeks before Jay-Z’s name became public in the lawsuit, attorney Tony Buzbee reportedly sent him a letter threatening to “immediately file” a “public lawsuit” unless he paid the plaintiff (via The New York Times). In response, lawyers for Jay-Z sued Buzbee for trying to “extort exorbitant sums” by making false claims.
His lawyers claimed this put him in an impossible position.
“Plaintiff presently faces a gun to his head,” they wrote, “either repeatedly pay an exorbitant sum of money to stop Defendants from the wide publication of wildly false allegations of sexual assault that would subject Plaintiff to opprobrium and irreparably harm Plaintiff’s reputation, family, career and livelihood, or else face the threat of an untold number of civil suits and financial and personal ruin.”
On Dec. 8, Buzbee amended the suit to publicly name Jay-Z. Buzbee initially named him as John Doe.
He wants his accuser’s name to become public knowledge
Now that Jay-Z has been publicly named in the lawsuit, he wants his accuser’s name made public. Buzbee has stated that she has a right to remain anonymous as she was a minor at the time of the alleged assault and fears the repercussions of coming forward.
“Mr. Carter deserves to know the identity of the person who is effectively accusing him — in sensationalized, publicity-hunting fashion — of criminal conduct, demanding massive financial compensation, and tarnishing a reputation earned over decades,” his lawyer, Alex Spiro, wrote in a filing, via People.
Spiro stated that Buzbee has unfairly and predatorily targeted his client.
“When Defendant refused to pay and instead took measures to establish his innocence, this unnamed Plaintiff and her self-promoting counsel (whose name has been splashed across headlines and press conferences under auspices of representing her) went to extraordinary lengths to shut down fair defense,” Spiro wrote. “But those efforts, too, failed.”
Jay-Z and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs have denied the accusations made against them
Combs is currently in jail awaiting trial. He has denied these allegations, just as he has denied the multiple other accusations against him.
“This amended complaint and the recent extortion lawsuit against Mr. Buzbee exposes his barrage of lawsuits against Mr. Combs for what they are: shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.”
His lawyer again asserted that all the accusations against Combs were false.
“As his legal team has said before, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process,” the statement continued. “In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor.”
How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.
