Singer Jay-Z sues over withdrawn rape suit
Jay-Z has taken legal action against an anonymous woman who previously accused him of sexual assault before withdrawing her lawsuit, Guardian reported. The rapper alleges that Jane Doe and her attorneys knowingly pursued a fabricated case against him.
The lawsuit, filed in Alabama - where the woman resides - also names her lawyers, Tony Buzbee and David Fortney. Jay-Z, legally known as Shawn Carter, asserts that Jane Doe admitted to his representatives that her accusations were untrue. The woman had initially claimed that both Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs assaulted her when she was 13 at a 2000 MTV Video Music Awards afterparty.
According to the legal filing, Jay-Z's attorneys state that the woman "voluntarily admitted directly to representatives of Mr Carter that the story brought before the world in court and on global television was just that: a false, malicious story."
His legal team argues that the now-retracted allegations have severely damaged Jay-Z's reputation and cost his company, Roc Nation, more than $20 million.
In an NBC News interview, Jane Doe acknowledged that she had "made some mistakes" in her claims. She had previously stated that her father picked her up following the alleged assault, though he had no memory of doing so. Additionally, she said she had spoken with a musician at the afterparty, but records show that the artist was on tour in a different location at the time.
Buzbee dismissed the lawsuit, calling it meritless. "This is just another attempt to intimidate and bully this poor woman that we will deal with in due course. We won't be bullied or intimidated by frivolous cases," he said. He further alleged that statements attributed to Jane Doe in the lawsuit were "completely made up, or they spoke to someone who isn't Jane Doe."
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