Wow.
After Houston attorney Tony Buzbee vowed to bring more than 100 lawsuits in multiple states on behalf of alleged sexual assault victims claiming they were sexually abused or exploited by media mogul Sean Combs, a federal lawsuit was refiled Sunday — this time including allegations against New York rapper and businessman Jay-Z, according to a report by NBC News.
In the lawsuit, the anonymous accuser identified only as “Jane Doe” claimed Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, and Combs had raped the 13-year-old girl in 2000, the report reads.
In a statement issued through Roc Nation, Carter’s entertainment company, he called the allegations “heinous in nature.”
“I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one,” Carter said in his written response. “Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case. This lawyer, who I have done a bit of research on, seems to have a pattern of these type of theatrics!”
In November, Buzbee himself was sued in California on suspicion of extorting “high profile” individuals, according to court documents filed in Los Angeles County Court.
The lawsuit, which was filed in L.A. Monday by an unnamed individual identified only as “John Doe,” accused Buzbee and his firm of threatening to publicize “entirely fabricated and malicious allegations of sexual assault — including multiple instances of rape of a minor, both male and female.” The suit claimed Buzbee weaponized purportedly baseless accusations in a bid to extort money from the unidentified plaintiff.
See here for some background. It’s not clear in this story but it is in the original NBC News article, that Jay-Z is the celebrity that sued Buzbee last month, alleging that Buzbee was extorting him over this allegation. All I can say is that they both can’t be right. The actual story about the 13-year-old alleged victim is too horrible for me to contemplate at this time, so I’ll leave this at that. I am certain we will be hearing more. Texas Public Radio, Jezebel, and the DMN have more.
UPDATE: Slate has a good overview of the case and what we know so far.