In a significant development in his ongoing legal battle, Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, is seeking to revive his extortion and defamation claims against attorney Tony Buzbee and his law firm following a complete recantation of rape allegations by the woman who initially accused him. The woman’s reversal, detailed in a sworn statement last Thursday, has prompted Jay-Z to ask a California appeals court for a reconsideration of its earlier dismissal of his lawsuit, which was thrown out by a lower court last year.
In a new petition first obtained by Rolling Stone, Carter argues that the woman’s declaration should be considered “explosive new evidence” that validates his claims and warrants further investigation. He is requesting that his “meritorious claims” proceed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where they were originally filed two years ago.
Carter’s legal team asserts, “Jane Doe’s declaration proves that discovery would yield evidence supporting Carter’s claims. Fairness and due process require this court to grant rehearing,” as stated in their recent appellate filing.
Details of the Recantation
In her sworn declaration, signed in her home state of Alabama, the woman declared that her accusations were false and insisted she had never met Carter. She disclosed that she had informed one of her lawyers about certain “mental health conditions” before Buzbee’s firm publicly named Carter in her lawsuit filed in December 2024. The declaration reads, “Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter never raped me. I have never met or spoken to Mr. Carter. Mr. Carter never engaged in any inappropriate conduct toward me whatsoever.”
The woman further stated, “There is no truth to any of my claims against Mr. Carter,” acknowledging the profound pain and suffering her accusations caused him. She signed her declaration under penalty of perjury.
Legal Arguments and Court Rulings
Jay-Z argues in his petition that the appeals court incorrectly relied on the notion that Jane Doe dismissed her case to “protect herself from harassment and invasion of privacy.” He contends that her new declaration provides a different narrative. The woman has now indicated that she decided to withdraw her rape claim after expressing doubts about her allegations to her legal team, which resulted in her signing the dismissal paperwork in Alabama. The sexual assault case was dismissed with prejudice under an agreement that prohibited Carter or his agents from contacting her.
Additionally, she claimed, “I never received any threat from Mr. Carter or anyone acting on his behalf,” and “No one at the Buzbee Law Firm or any other law firm ever told me about a possible settlement of the New York Lawsuit. I did not authorize a settlement.” Jay-Z argues that Buzbee’s actions to dismiss the lawsuit were more about protecting his interests from potential sanctions rather than shielding the woman from perceived harassment.
The California appeals court previously upheld the dismissal of Carter’s claims, stating that Buzbee’s demand letter had been sent in anticipation of litigation and that the trial court correctly determined that Carter did not demonstrate actual malice in Buzbee’s statements regarding the allegations.
According to Associate Justice Anne Richardson, “The record contains no evidence Buzbee accused Carter of raping Jane Doe while knowing those statements to be false or with reckless disregard as to whether they were true.”
Continuing Legal Saga
Jay-Z initially filed his lawsuit against Buzbee in late 2024, claiming that the prominent attorney knowingly advanced false allegations when he sent a demand letter concerning the accusations against him. Buzbee’s firm had earlier represented the woman in a separate lawsuit against Sean Combs, alleging that another unidentified male celebrity also assaulted her. After Carter declined to resolve the allegations, Buzbee amended the complaint to include Carter as a co-defendant.
Despite the procedural challenges he faces in reviving the extortion and defamation claims, Jay-Z is continuing his pursuit of malicious prosecution claims against Buzbee and his firm in New York. He recently dismissed Jane Doe from this action but maintains that her legal team should have recognized the inconsistencies in her allegations and the lack of credible support.
Efforts to contact Buzbee for comment were unsuccessful, but he has defended his actions, stating, “We have multiple lawyers (at least four) who dealt with Ms. Doe long before she met me. She gave the exact same story to each.” He has argued that a demand letter sent prior to filing a lawsuit does not constitute extortion.
In a recent filing, one of Buzbee’s lawyers claimed that the recantation was a “bought-and-paid-for declaration,” although no evidence was provided to support these allegations. They noted that Carter’s legal team had previously characterized the woman as an “unreliable witness” with “several mental health disorders,” raising concerns about her credibility.
Buzbee’s camp has labeled Jay-Z’s malicious prosecution claims as “improper” and “abusive,” asserting that pursuing civil allegations of sexual assault on behalf of Jane Doe is not a misconduct. They also suggested that the inconsistencies in her recollections are not unexpected, considering her claims of having been drugged and assaulted at the age of 13.
