Jay-Z’s lawyer vs. Tony Buzbee’s Diddy Case: Everything You Need to Know

Jay-Z and a lawyer Tony BuzbeeThe current legal drama is just beginning.

On Sunday, December 8, news broke that Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) had been named alongside. Sean “Diddy” Combs in a civil suit filed by Buzbee. According to NBC News, the legal paperwork Jay-Z accused55, of the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl in 2000 with Combs, also 55. The anonymous accuser, who was referred to as “Jane Doe,” claimed the assault occurred at an afterparty for the 2000 MTV Music Video Awards.

Jay-Z responded to the lawsuit with a lengthy, emotional statementin which he denied the charges. He added that his “only heart is for my family”. (The rapper shares daughter Blue Ivy, 12, and twins Rumi and Sir, both 8, with wife Beyonce.)

“My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at an age where her friends will surely see the press and question the nature of these claims and explain the cruelty and greed of people,” Jay-Z said in a statement. My Weekly. “I mourn another loss of innocence. Children should not have to endure this at their young age. It is unfair to try to understand the inexplicable degrees of malice that are meant to destroy families and the human spirit.”

In addition to denying the allegations, Jay-Z also had a message that was aimed at Buzbee.

“Seems like you’re using people for personal gain,” Jay-Z wrote. “Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the stupid claims you made against me, which, if it weren’t for the seriousness around harming children, would be laughable.”

Keep scrolling to get an overview of everything you’ll learn about Jay-Z and Buzbee’s battle:

Who is Tony Buzbee?

Buzbee received public recognition earlier this year after it started representing 120 clients who claimed they were Diddy’s victims. Diddy has vehemently denied all the allegations. On October 7, Buzbee teased that more celebrities will be sued along with Diddy and claimed that demand letters had already been sent out.

“I think I’ll let the lawsuits speak for themselves,” the Texas attorney told TMZ Live at the time. “Everyone is focused on what has been going on with other celebrities, who is going to be named, who is going to be published – I don’t expect that to happen this week. I hope to file some lawsuits this week.”

Why was Tony Buzbee sued?

Since Diddy’s arrest in September, Buzbee has filed more than a dozen lawsuits against Diddy. (Diddy pleaded guilty and remains in prison until his trial in May 2025.)

However, on November 18, an unnamed male celebrity filed a action against Buzbee. The documents accused the lawyer and his firm of “brazenly attempting to extort exorbitant sums of money from him or publicly making false and terrifying allegations against him,” according to court documents obtained by CNN at the time.

According to the anonymous star, Buzbee allegedly sent him a letter asking him to support his cases against Diddy. The filing alleged that Buzbee’s firm “threatened to unleash completely fabricated and salacious sexual assault charges” involving “multiple instances of rape of a minor, both male and female” if their client “refused to comply with their demands.”

The New York Times On December 9, he announced that Jay-Z was the anonymous celebrity suing Buzbee.

How did Jay-Z get involved?

While Jay-Z and Diddy they were friends over the years, the Roc Nation founder recently became involved in Diddy’s legal drama. On December 8, Buzbee re-filed the October lawsuit to include Jay-Z. In the initial paperwork at the time, his name was only Diddy. According to documents obtained by NBC News, both Jay-Z and Diddy were accused of rape then a 13-year-old girl.

Both Jay-Z and Diddy have denied the allegations. Diddy’s lawyers released a statement on behalf of the music mogul.

“This amended complaint and the recent racketeering 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 that lies will be spread about them anyway as the lies were spread about Mr. Combs,” Diddy’s lawyers said in a statement to Us. “As his legal team has previously said, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. The truth will prevail in court: that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone—male or female, adult or minor.”

What did Jay-Z say about Tony Buzbee?

After news of the lawsuit broke, Jay-Z publicly criticized Buzbee and the lawsuit.

“My lawyer received a blackmail attempt called a solicitation from a ‘lawyer’ named Tony Buzbee. What he calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would force me to settle,” Jay-Z said in a statement. Our denying the allegations. “No, sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud that you are in a VERY public way. So no, I won’t give you ONE RED PENNY!!”

The statement continued: “These allegations are so heinous that I am asking you to file criminal charges, not civil ones!! Whoever would commit such a crime on a minor should be locked up, wouldn’t you agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”

Jay-Z added that the allegations were “heinous” and noted that he was taking a dig at Buzbee.

“This lawyer I’ve been doing some research on seems to have a pattern for this type of theater!” Jay-Z wrote. “I have no idea how you became such a pitiable person Mr. Buzbee, but I promise you I have seen your kind many times. I am more than ready to deal with your type. You claim to be a sailor?! Marines are known for their bravery, you have no honor or dignity.”

Did Jane Doe weigh herself?

After Jay-Z denied the allegations and claimed the lawsuit was an attempt at “extortion,” Jane Doe said via Buzbee that she “never asked for a penny.” from a musician.

“Mr. Carter previously denied that he was the one suing me and my firm. He even filed his frivolous case under a pseudonym. What he fails to mention in his recent statement is that my firm sent his lawyer a request on behalf of the alleged victim and this the victim never asked him for a dime,” Buzbee told TMZ in a Dec. 8 statement accusing Jay-Z of being the anonymous male celebrity who filed against him last month lawsuit.

Buzzbee continued, “Instead, she only sought confidential mediation. Since I sent the letter on her behalf, Mr. Carter has not only sued me, but has attempted to bully and harass me and this plaintiff. His behavior had the opposite effect. She is encouraged. I am very proud of her determination.”

What legal action has Jay-Z taken?

Our confirmed on December 9 that Jay-Z had filed a motion to appeal a lawsuit accusing him of rape. According to documents obtained from OurJay-Z moved to dismiss for “lack of subject matter jurisdiction due to plaintiff’s lack of standing.”

“Plaintiff has presented no evidence — no affidavits, declarations, or specific factual support — to demonstrate the kind of serious injury necessary to justify pseudonymity,” the document states.

Did Tony Buzbee answer?

On December 10, Buzbee filed a motion to proceed anonymously with the Jane Doe case. However, Jay-Z’s legal team objected and subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the request.

“Mr. Carter is completely innocent. This is a shakedown. He is not mentioned, referenced, or involved in any way in the criminal investigation of Mr. Combs,” the letter said. “He is neither a target nor a person of interest in this investigation .”

Jay-Z’s legal team outlined why Buzbee’s lawsuit should be dismissed

After filing a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against him, Jay-Z’s attorney Alex Spiro filed a separate motion to dismiss the case based on Buzbee’s alleged misconduct.

According to a Dec. 18 filing obtained by OurSpiro claimed that Buzbee “resorted to an extortion campaign” against Jay-Z when he filed a sexual assault lawsuit against him in October. The lawyer claimed that Buzbee initially chose not to name Jay-Z and threatened to “go public with false and inflammatory allegations” about his client and release his name unless he handed over a sum of money.

Spiro also claimed that Buzbee “admitted to NBC that his firm did no investigation into the merits” of Jane Doe’s rape allegations against Jay-Z and Diddy before proceeding with the lawsuit. Jay-Z’s team claimed that the lack of research “violated Rule 11”.

He argued that Buzbee was “caught red-handed violating lawyers’ continuing Rule 11 duty to “make reasonable inquiries of the facts and the law before filing suit.”

The federal rule requires that all “plaintiffs, motions, and other documents filed in federal court” be signed by the attorney or party himself and must “certify that the document is well founded in fact” and supported by law under the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’ official site.

In a filing on Jay-Z’s behalf, Spiro also asked the judge to order Buzbee’s team to “preserve” and produce all evidence in the case. Jay-Z’s lawyers argued that it should be “presumed” that Buzbee would go to “extraordinary lengths” to cover up his alleged “ethical violations”.

“Therefore, there is a substantial risk that Buzbee will seek to destroy documents or other evidence that would demonstrate that he knew or should have known that the allegations in the complaint were false,” the document says.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, get in touch National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).