Jay-Z Vs. Tony Buzbee: Lawsuits, Allegations & Extra

Jay-Z has ascended to the highest of hip-hop and broke limitations, opening the doorways for many who’ve adopted him and finally, incomes the title of hip-hop’s first official billionaire. For probably the most half, he’s managed to take care of a comparatively close to and tidy picture. He’s gone on to realize issues that the majority wouldn’t have imagined have been attainable inside a lifetime.

Nevertheless, Hov hasn’t gone by means of his profession with out criticism or backlash. The most recent allegations in opposition to him are appalling, for lack of higher phrases. A newly amended lawsuit in opposition to Diddy accuses the 55-year-old Brooklyn native of raping a 13-year-old woman in 2000. The lawsuit, filed by Tony Buzbee, claims that she was drugged at a VMA afterparty when she was hardly a young person and woke as much as being sexually assaulted by Diddy and Jay-Z. Although his identify was initially redacted as “Celeb A” within the preliminary submitting, the current modification has spotlighted Jay-Z in unflattering methods. The rapper has since denied the entire claims in opposition to him.

Although the lawsuit initially targeted on Diddy’s alleged wrongdoings, the amended file lists Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter as a defendant. It states that round September seventh, 2000, a pal of the then 13-year-old Plaintiff drove her to Radio Metropolis Music Corridor in New York Metropolis the place MTV hosted their annual Music Video Awards. Doe mentioned she arrived on the venue the place crowds surrounded artists and celebrities till the present started. At that time, she remained exterior and watched the ceremony from a jumbotron. The lawsuit claims she was decided to make her approach into the award present or an afterparty and approached limousine drivers parked exterior of the venue in an try to speak her approach in.

Finally, Doe spoke to a limousine driver who she claims labored for Diddy. The motive force reportedly advised her that the Unhealthy Boy founder “preferred youthful ladies” and mentioned she “match what Diddy was in search of.” The lawsuit mentioned the motive force took her to the afterparty after chauffeuring Combs and others to the occasion which was situated at a “giant white residence with a gated U-shaped driveway.” Doe mentioned she signed an NDA upon her arrival, although she by no means obtained a replica. 

As soon as coming into the celebration, she acknowledged a number of celebrities she needed to see on the award exhibits. She mentioned some she met whereas waitstaff walked across the room with trays of drinks. Doe added that there she witnessed marijuana and cocaine getting used overtly. Finally, she mentioned she accepted a drink described as a “reddish-yellow combination that tasted like orange juice, cranberry juice, and one thing bitter.” The go well with claims she felt “woozy and lightheaded” after taking a couple of sips and wanted to lie down.

The Plaintiff mentioned that she entered an empty room with a single mattress, although she didn’t lock the door. She claims Diddy, Jay-Z, and an unnamed feminine celeb, listed as Celeb B, entered the room with Diddy allegedly grabbing her and screaming, “You might be able to celebration!” She claims Diddy threw her in opposition to a wall, and as soon as she stood up, he threw her onto the mattress earlier than Jay-Z allegedly started undressing her whereas she grew to become disoriented. The lawsuit claims that Jay-Z raped her whereas Celeb B watched. Diddy allegedly tried to power her to carry out fellatio on him however she punched him and he stopped.

Buzbee claims that Jay-Z and Diddy violated the New York Metropolis Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Safety Act by committing a “crime of violence motivated by gender.” Consequently, Doe suffered from “bodily accidents, emotional misery, psychological hurt, anxiousness, humiliation, bodily and emotional ache and struggling, household and social disruption, and different hurt.” She seeks an unspecified quantity that might be decided in courtroom. 

Inside minutes of the reviews rising, Jay-Z issued a uncommon assertion calling out Buzbee and referred to the lawsuit as a “blackmail try.” Jay recommended that the “demand letter” was an try to make him settle as a result of public scrutiny. “These allegations are so heinous that I implore you to file a prison grievance, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a criminal offense in opposition to a minor must be locked away, would you not agree?” he wrote. Describing Buzbee as a “deplorable human,” Jay mentioned the lawyer “appears to have a sample of those sort of theatrics.” “You declare to be a marine?! Marines are recognized for his or her valor, you might have neither honor nor dignity.” 

“My solely heartbreak is for my household. My spouse and I must sit our youngsters down, considered one of whom is on the age the place her mates will certainly see the press and ask questions in regards to the nature of those claims, and clarify the cruelty and greed of individuals. I mourn yet one more lack of innocence.”

Jay supplied his condolences to the “true victims” on this planet earlier than issuing some severe phrases to Buzbee. “I’m a younger man who made it out of the challenge of Brooklyn,” including that from the place he is from, they “don’t play all these video games.” “We’ve got very strict codes and honor. We shield youngsters, you appear to use folks for private acquire. Solely your community of conspiracy theorists, pretend physics, will consider the idiotic claims you might have levied in opposition to me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding hurt to children, can be laughable,” he wrote. “I look ahead to displaying you simply how totally different I’m.”

On November 18th, regulation agency Quinn Emanuel, who has represented Jay-Z up to now, filed a lawsuit in opposition to Buzbee for extortion “primarily based on Buzbee’s threats of publicizing false info for monetary acquire.” On the time, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of a “John Doe.” Buzbee later issued a message on his Instagram web page the place he acknowledged that he wouldn’t “enable the highly effective and their high-dollar attorneys to intimidate or silence sexual assault survivors.”

“It has been reported {that a} lawsuit has been filed in opposition to my agency claiming extortion. The attorneys that filed it additionally instantly referred to as TMZ in an obvious effort to silence those that allege sexual assault,” it reads. “The case filed in opposition to my agency will not be solely with out authorized benefit, it’s laughable. Right here is why: On behalf of two purchasers who allege sexual assault, we despatched a typical demand letter to a New York lawyer that we all know represents an alleged perpetrator and potential defendant. The letters have been despatched searching for a confidential mediation in lieu of submitting a lawsuit. No amount of cash was included within the demand letters. No threats have been made. The demand letters despatched are not any totally different than those routinely despatched by attorneys throughout the nation in all forms of circumstances.” 

The amended lawsuit now consists of claims that Jay-Z was the John Doe, stating, “Upon current info and perception, Jay-Z responded to mentioned letter by not solely submitting an completely frivolous lawsuit, however by additionally orchestrating a conspiracy of harassment, bullying and intimidation in opposition to Plaintiff’s attorneys, their households, staff, and former associates in an try to silence Plaintiff from naming Jay-Z herein. This effort was meant to scare Plaintiff and to discredit her counsel.”

The disrespect towards Buzbee’s marine background evidently hit a sore spot, main the lawyer to hearth again through Instagram. Accompanied by a photograph of his time within the marine, he accused Jay-Z and his group of a “coordinated and aggressive effort that has included harassing my children, contacting my purchasers and former purchasers to encourage them to sue me, contacting my colleagues or former staff asking if I’ve “abused” them, displaying up at my present staff’ properties to harass them, submitting frivolous circumstances in opposition to me and my regulation agency, defaming me with outrageous assertions to anybody who will hear, and having mysterious folks comply with me and my household, I’m nonetheless THAT man.” He added, “Daylight is one of the best disinfectant and I’m fairly sure the solar is coming.”

In a subsequent tweet, he added, “What [Jay-Z] fails to say in his current assertion is my agency despatched his lawyer a requirement letter on behalf of an alleged sufferer and that sufferer by no means demanded a penny from him. As an alternative, she solely sought a confidential mediation. Since I despatched the letter on her behalf, Mr. Carter has not solely sued me, however he has tried to bully and harass me and this plaintiff. His conduct has had the other influence. She is emboldened. I’m very pleased with her resolve.”

Following Buzbee’s social media posts, Jay-Z’s attorneys fired again in courtroom the place they, not solely took concern with the Instagram and X/Twitter claims but additionally demanded that the Plaintiff reveal her id. “Plaintiff’s Amended Criticism must be dismissed, and the movement to proceed anonymously denied as moot. Within the various, the Court docket ought to require Plaintiff to establish herself in order that Mr. Carter can adequately defend himself in opposition to these baseless and spurious allegations,” the submitting reads. Furthermore, Jay-Z’s attorneys accused Buzbee of fueling this lawsuit by means of a private agenda, reasonably than making an attempt to convey justice to the alleged accuser.

“Defendant Shawn Carter has constructed an impeccable popularity. He has by no means been accused of, not to mention engaged in, any sexual misconduct. Till right this moment, when Plaintiff—in an Amended Criticism filed by Lawyer Anthony Buzbee—has leveled baseless allegations and accused Mr. Carter of despicable acts whereas hiding behind the pseudonym ‘Jane Doe.’ These claims will not be about justice for victims. Nor are they about giving victims of sexual violence a voice. As an alternative, they’re merely the following chapter in Lawyer Buzbee’s sprawling extortion saga—a saga whose goal is base and measured in {dollars}. Buzbee has devoted himself to the enterprise of extracting giant settlements from celebrities, high-net-worth people, and companies with any public ties to Sean Combs Combs (a/okay/a “P. Diddy,” a/okay/a “Puff Daddy,” a/okay/a“Diddy,” a/okay/a “PD,” and a/okay/a “Love”) following his indictment for intercourse crimes in September 2024.”

Shortly after demanding to unmask the accuser, Alex Spiro, Jay-Z’s lawyer, wrote a letter to Choose Analisa Torres requesting that the case be dismissed completely. Spiro echoed comparable sentiments within the current courtroom submitting responding to the lawsuit within the letter. “Because of the extremely delicate nature of this matter and the extraordinary media scrutiny it has generated, we respectfully request to be heard on an expedited foundation. For the avoidance of doubt, Mr. Carter is completely harmless. This can be a shakedown. He’s not talked about, referenced, or implicated in any approach within the prison investigation of Mr. Combs. He’s neither a goal nor an individual of curiosity in that investigation,” the letter reads. The letter additionally accuses Jane Doe and Buzbee of making an attempt to make use of the judicial course of to “generate unwarranted media consideration and strain Mr. Carter right into a settlement.” 

The general public’s notion of Buzbee undoubtedly grew to become impacted by Jay-Z’s assertion and authorized filings. Nevertheless, as media retailers continued to spotlight Jay-Z’s defiant press launch, Buzbee, as soon as once more, issued a press release bashing claims that he tried to “extort and blackmail” the rapper. Buzbee denied that he made any threats however as an alternative, despatched a “normal demand letter searching for a mediation on behalf of a girl who alleges Jay-Z sexually assaulted her as a minor.” Whereas Jay-Z focused Buzbee in his assertion, alongside along with his courtroom submitting, the lawyer mentioned that his shopper most well-liked “to try decision wanting submitting a lawsuit.”

“What you’re seeing performed out now could be a coordinated and determined effort to focus the general public’s consideration on me personally to keep away from consideration on the allegations being made by my purchasers. This effort has included harassing my household and colleagues and even providing former purchasers cash to sue me—which is unlawful,” the tweet continues. “When an alleged perpetrator behaves on this method, wildly asserting {that a} fundamental demand letter is “extortion,” and aggressively utilizing the media to assault the opposing lawyer whereas on the identical time ignoring the allegations being made by the alleged sufferer, it jogs my memory of a well-known line from Shakespeare: ‘The woman doth protest an excessive amount of, methinks.’”

Alex Spiro, Jay-Z’s lawyer, advised the decide they’ve cause to consider that Buzbee could possibly be pressuring purchasers to create false accusations, per TMZ. In a declaration filed to the courtroom, Spiro mentioned that considered one of his associates obtained a lead from a girl who claimed that she as soon as contacted Buzbee’s agency for illustration in courtroom over sexual trafficking and abuse claims. What’s attention-grabbing about these claims is that she noticed Buzbee’s name out to anybody who might have been an alleged sufferer of Diddy, although she reportedly claimed her accusations had nothing to do with the mogul. Nonetheless, she mentioned Buzbee requested her, “At what level did you meet Diddy?”

In accordance with the declare, the girl mentioned she felt “pressured to lie.” When she refused, Buzbee’s agency reportedly dropped her as a shopper. Moreover, Spiro mentioned that the girl reached out to his agency as a result of Buzbee’s conduct “discredits those that are reputable victims,” and her anonymity was because of her concern of retaliation. 

“That is so ridiculous. If somebody calls our consumption and has a viable case that we consider has benefit and we are able to pursue we’ll pursue it. We’re at the moment pursuing a whole bunch of circumstances in opposition to people aside from PDiddy. What we received’t do is pursue a case that we don’t consider has benefit,” Buzbee advised TMZ in response. “I can’t communicate to what she advised the consumption people to even let you know what this lady claimed if and when she referred to as,” he continued, including, “We definitely don’t must ‘strain’ anybody to pursue a case.”

“Jay-Z’s group is determined and seemingly uncontrolled,” he added in a press release to Deadline. “Their investigators have just lately been caught on tape providing present purchasers of our agency one thousand {dollars} to sue our agency. This conduct is reprehensible and unlawful. There might be penalties coming quickly.”

Doubling down on his statements to Deadline, Buzbee, as soon as once more, shared some info by means of his social media channels surrounding Jay-Z and Spiro’s alleged conduct. Buzbee mentioned he has recorded telephone calls with “investigators” from New York who contacted present and former purchasers with guarantees of getting them paid. Sharing alleged transcripts from a name, he revealed that they mentioned: “anybody Googling Buzbee and his firm — his apply — are going into litigation.” Moreover, they allegedly mentioned that they’re placing collectively “this factor” for an organization they work for, including that “We gave this child 1,000 bucks to start out yesterday simply to get him on the fitting path,” and blatantly stating that “On the finish of the day, that is going to undergo the courts, Buzbee is getting sued.” In brief, Buzbee mentioned, “These guys are on tape providing to pay purchasers to sue our regulation agency. That’s a criminal offense.”

There have been loads of questions arising from Buzbee’s amended lawsuit, together with the claims issued on Jay-Z’s behalf. Nevertheless, there’s a minimum of one former shopper of Buzbee who claims that there is likely to be benefit to Hov and Spiro’s claims. Per TMZ, Matthew Ray Thompson Jr. filed a federal lawsuit claiming that Buzbee withheld a considerable amount of his settlement cash. Worse, he says that Buzbee loaned him his personal funds with excessive curiosity. 

Thompson Jr. claimed that he retained Buzbee, who filed a lawsuit on his behalf in November 2023, after a work-related harm. Whereas pending trial, he obtained computerized funds from his employer however these funds have been redirected to Buzbee. Thompson claimed that these funds have been loaned to him from Buzbee, who allegedly held greater than 60% of the cash whereas tacking on curiosity. Furthermore, Thompson claims different purchasers have handled comparable techniques by Buzbee’s agency. “Buzbee has grow to be wealthy by milking settlements with threats of destructive consideration from individuals who depend on their public reputations for livelihood,” the go well with reads.

Buzbee responded to Thompson Jr, claiming that the allegations have been false. “Mr. Thompson was solicited and paid to convey this case. It has no benefit. The attorneys who introduced it could have seen that had they bothered to do any due diligence in any respect,” he mentioned. “The underside line is that the investigators who manufactured this case and the attorneys who filed it have been reckless and silly. The case is junk and the hassle behind it will likely be uncovered.”

He added, “Jay-Z’s investigators contacted greater than forty former purchasers they apparently discovered on Venmo. They every have been supplied $1000 to sue me. We’ve got the investigators caught on tape admitting they gave this ‘shopper’ cash to convey this case. We might be searching for state bar motion in opposition to the attorneys concerned as a result of such conduct is a state regulation crime and likewise violates the moral guidelines that govern attorneys. The case itself is frivolous and might be dismissed as such.”

Some have questioned how these allegations ought to influence Jay-Z’s companies. Nevertheless, AP reviews that the rape allegation in opposition to Jay-Z received’t influence his cope with the league. Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that the league’s relationship with Jay-Z, whose firm Roc Nation has produced Tremendous Bowl halftime exhibits, stays unchanged regardless of ongoing litigation.

The NFL’s collaboration with Roc Nation started in 2019 and just lately expanded. Kendrick Lamar is about to headline the upcoming Tremendous Bowl halftime present in New Orleans, with Roc Nation co-producing. Moreover, Beyoncé, Jay-Z’s spouse, will carry out on the Ravens-Texans recreation on Christmas. Goodell praised Roc Nation’s contributions to league occasions and social justice initiatives.