Jay-Z’s Aggressive Defamation Suit Against a Sexual Assault Accuser is in Serious Trouble

Jay-Z’s efforts to appeal the dismissal of his defamation suit against attorney Tony Buzbee are met with a skeptical appeals court.

In 2024, Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee filed a short-lived lawsuit against rap mogul Jay-Z accusing him of raping a 13-year-old Jane Doe alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs decades prior. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, quickly responded with a defamation and extortion countersuit, but the court dismissed it. Since then, he has been working diligently to appeal that decision, but it appears that things are not going in his favor.

Now, a California appeals court is likely to affirm the dismissal of Carter’s lawsuit after hearing arguments on Thursday in Los Angeles.

The rapper’s case relies heavily on a recording between private investigators he hired and the anonymous rape accuser, in which the woman repeatedly admitted the claims were false and that her attorney, Buzbee, had pressured her to lie. But Judge Mark H. Epstein ruled previously that this interview is inadmissible under the legal hearsay rule, which led to him tossing the case entirely due to insufficient evidence.

Similarly, three appellate judges announced on Thursday that their tentative decision is to affirm Judge Epstein’s dismissal. Judge Stephen Goorvitch noted his concerns about the origin of the recording.

“My concern is a plaintiff’s lawyer shows up in court and says, ‘Magically this interview has been dropped in my lap; I had nothing to do with it,’” said Judge Goorvitch. “We have no information about where this came from. It looks highly suspicious that somehow, somebody talked to Mr. Buzbee’s client directly.”

Judge Anne Richardson agreed that the interview is “not a reliable statement,” as the woman seemed to be giving simple yes or no answers to leading questions. Moreover, a lawyer representing Buzbee, Samuel Moniz, argued that investigators threatened to publicly reveal Jane Doe’s identity unless she cooperated.

“To say these circumstances are inherently intimidating is an understatement,” said Moniz. “If you listen to the recording, her voice is trembling. She’s frightened. She’s totally caught off guard.”

At the same time, Carter’s attorney, Jeremy Rosen, argued that the case should move to full evidence discovery, including the exchange of documents and witness testimony, before the court should decide whether or not Buzbee pressured Jane Doe into fabricating rape claims.

Jay-Z is also pursuing a separate lawsuit against Buzbee and Jane Doe in federal court, in a matter that was transferred to New York from Alabama. Buzbee is scheduled to file a key motion to dismiss in September.