Jay-Z faced a scathing rebuke for ‘wasting court resources’ in his fight against a woman who accused him of raping her when she was 13.
The music mogul, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has made several attempts through his lawyer Alex Spiro to quash the case or force the woman to be publicly identified.
But on Thursday, Judge Analisa Torres sided with his accuser, granting the woman anonymity for the next stage of proceedings and slamming Spiro in the process.
The woman, referred to as Jane Doe, alleges Carter, along with disgraced rapper Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs, drugged and raped her when she was 13 at an after-party for the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City.
Carter has vehemently denied the claims, calling them baseless.
In a five-page filing released on Thursday, Judge Torres condemned Spiro’s aggressive legal maneuvers, describing them as ‘combative’ and filled with ‘inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks.’
She accused Carter’s attorney of attempting to ‘fast-track the judicial process’ by repeatedly filing motions to reveal the identity of Jane Doe and dismiss the case.
‘Carter’s lawyer’s relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks is inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client,’ Torres stated firmly.
‘The Court will not fast-track the judicial process merely because counsel demands it.’
The judge in the case of rape allegations against Jay-Z stretching back 25 years issued a scathing rebuke over the conduct of the rapper’s attorney
According to the lawsuit, the alleged incident occurred after the accuser, then a teenager trying to get into the awards show at Radio City Music Hall, was invited to an after-party by a man claiming to be Combs’ limo driver.
The disturbing suit alleges how upon arriving at the party, the woman was coerced into signing a nondisclosure agreement, served a drink laced with drugs, and subsequently assaulted by Carter and Combs as a ‘female celebrity’ looked on.
In his denial, Carter has accused both the accuser and her attorney, Tony Buzbee, of fabricating a ‘false statement.’
In a crucial win for the plaintiff, the judge ruled that Jane Doe’s anonymity would be preserved for the time being, emphasizing that ‘the weight of the factors tips in favor of allowing Plaintiff to remain anonymous, at least for this stage of the litigation.’
Buzbee’s lawsuit against Jay-Z is part of a series of civil cases he has filed against Combs, 55, who remains jailed in New York as he awaits trial on federal charges that he coerced and abused women for years.
Jay-Z said the lawsuit against him is part of an extortion attempt.
After the allegations came to light, he swiftly issued a statement in which he accused Buzbee of trying to blackmail him by getting him to agree to a legal settlement over allegations he and Combs raped a woman when she was 13 years old.
‘I have no idea how you have come to be such a deplorable human Mr. Buzbee, but I promise you I have seen your kind many times over,’ Jay-Z said in his statement.
‘You claim to be a marine? Marines are known for their valor, you have neither honor nor dignity.’
Judge Analisa Torres, pictured, reprimanded Jay-Z’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, in the case alleging sexual assault dating back nearly 25 years
Judge Torres condemned Spiro’s aggressive legal maneuvers, describing them as ‘combative’ and filled with ‘inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks.’
Buzbee, a well-known name in Texas courtrooms who has won billions of dollars in settlements for his clients, has said his firm is representing more than 150 people, both men and women, who allege sexual abuse and exploitation at the hands of Combs.
Buzbee’s firm, which has set up a 1-800 number for accusers, is representing more than 100 alleged Diddy victims and has filed a wave of suits against hip-hop mogul Combs.
Buzbee’s lawsuits allege that many of the people he represents were abused at parties in New York, California and Florida where individuals were given drinks that were laced with drugs.
Combs’ lawyers have dismissed Buzbee’s lawsuits as ‘shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them.’
In the Jay-Z lawsuit, the Texas-based attorney claimed the rapper has ‘tried to bully and harass’ him and his client over the incident said to have happened at a 2000 VMA’s afterparty – but this has backfired by ’emboldening’ them to take the case to court.
‘Regarding the Jay-Z case and his efforts to silence my clients: Mr. Carter previously denied being the one who sued me and my firm,’ Buzbee said in a statement.
‘He filed his frivolous case under a pseudonym. What he fails to say in his recent statement is my firm sent his lawyer a demand letter on behalf of an alleged victim and that victim never demanded a penny from him.
‘Instead, she only sought a confidential mediation. Since I sent the letter on her behalf, Mr. Carter has not only sued me, but he has tried to bully and harass me and this plaintiff.
‘His conduct has had the opposite impact. She is emboldened. I’m very proud of her resolve. As far as the allegations in the complaint filed, we will let the filing speak for itself and will litigate the facts in court, not in the media.’
Buzbee also told The New York Times in an email that he followed proper ‘legal practice’ in ‘sending a basic litigation demand letter’ to Jay-Z and his camp.
The lawyer said he sought to get a ‘confidential sit down’ with the rapper to protect his client’s identity.
‘We won’t get bogged down in a silly sideshow that tries to make the lawyers the focus of what are very serious allegations brought by a courageous woman,’ Buzbee told the paper.
Meanwhile, Combs, currently held without bail on federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, has also denied the allegations brought forward in this case.
The Bad Boy Entertainment founder’s trial is scheduled for May 2025.
Jay-Z and Combs both gained fame in the 2000s, emerging as wide-ranging entrepreneurs and two of the world’s wealthiest rappers. Earlier this year, Forbes estimated Jay-Z’s net worth to be $2.5 billion.
The artists have collaborated over the years, with Jay-Z featured on Combs’ debut album, No Way Out and Combs appearing on Jay-Z´s sophomore album, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1.
Jay-Z, 55, real name Shawn Corey Carter, was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, 55, at a VMAs afterparty in 2000. Both men have denied the allegations
Adding another layer of complexity, the plaintiff’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, is also facing his own serious allegations
Rapper Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs, is currently held without bail on federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has also denied the allegations brought forward in the case
Adding another layer of complexity, the plaintiff’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, is also facing his own serious allegations.
In a separate suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Buzbee is accused of sexually assaulting a woman, deliberately passing on a sexually transmitted disease, and violently attacking her, hitting her so hard he smashed her teeth.
The claims allege that he attempted to silence the woman by offering free legal services and becoming ‘possessive’ to secure her silence and “prevent her from exposing him for what he did to her,” according to the suit.
Jay-Z’s defense team, led by Spiro, has adopted an aggressive strategy, claiming the lawsuit is riddled with contradictions.
In particular, Spiro has challenged the credibility of the plaintiff’s allegations, citing her inability to recall key details in an NBC News interview.
Earlier this week, Jay-Z’s lawyer Alex Spiro has insisted that the pair do not share a ‘closer association’ than professional friends (pictured in 2020)
Jay-Z – real name Shawn Carter – was named in a civil lawsuit accusing him of raping a 13-year-old alongside Combs in 2000. He issued a statement denying the claims
In their court filing Wednesday, Jay-Z’s lawyers cited a recent television interview with NBC News in which his accuser acknowledged inconsistencies in her story
‘Honestly, what is the clearest is what happened to me and route that I took to what happened to me. Not all of the faces there are as clear,’ the woman said in the interview. ‘So I have made some mistakes. I may have made a mistake in identifying.’
He has also petitioned the court to make her identity public, arguing that anonymity undermines transparency in the judicial process.
The case has drawn significant public attention not only because of the high-profile names involved but also due to its broader implications for how courts handle sensitive allegations of sexual assault.
Critics of Spiro’s approach have pointed to Judge Torres’ reprimand as evidence of overreach, while supporters argue that transparency is essential to ensure fairness in high-profile cases.
For now, the judge’s decision to shield the accuser’s identity underscores the gravity of the allegations.