Jay-Z has been caught in the crossfire of sexual assault allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs, and he’s fighting back.
Earlier this month, billionaire rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z — real name Shawn Carter — was named as a co-defendant in a refiled lawsuit accusing him and Combs of raping a 13-year-old girl at an award show afterparty more than two decades ago.
In response to the lawsuit, Jay-Z denied the “heinous” allegations, saying they were part of a “blackmail attempt.” His attorney, Alex Spiro, added that the claims are “false” and “unfounded,” and said that Jay-Z has “never.”
Spiro has since filed a motion to have the Jane Doe accuser unmasked and her complaint dismissed. He said his client “never” committed sexual assault and does not know the woman who has accused him.
“He’s upset,” Spiro said when asked how Jay-Z is handling the accusations, per Rolling Stone. “He’s upset that somebody would be allowed to do this, would make a mockery of the system like this. He’s upset that this distracts and dissuades real victims from coming forward. He’s upset that his kids and his family have to deal with this. He’s upset, and he should be upset.”
In addition to refuting the allegations, Jay-Z and Spiro have taken action against Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, who filed the amended lawsuit in New York. The men called Buzbee a “fraud” and accused him of orchestrating a “shakedown.”
The pair also revealed that Jay-Z is the John Doe “celebrity” who filed a lawsuit against Buzbee in November, for alleged extortion. They allege that Buzbee added Carter’s name to the re-filed lawsuit as “a clear act of retaliation” because Carter sued him first.
Filed on Nov. 18 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Jay-Z’s lawsuit stated that he felt like he had “a gun to his head” that led him to be proactive in suing Buzbee, “to avoid the irreparable harm to [his] reputation” that might result from the attorney naming him first.
Jay-Z alleges that Buzbee was attempting to extort “exorbitant sums” in exchange for not filing “wildly false horrific allegations” against him related to “multiple” plaintiffs, “both male and female.”
Notably, only one Jane Doe accuser has named Carter in a lawsuit. Buzbee vigorously denied Jay-Z’s extortion allegations and has asserted that he will keep fighting on behalf of Diddy’s accusers.
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