Jay-Z claims he lost projects worth nearly $200 million due to s*xual assault lawsuit
Rapper Jay-Z (aka Shawn Carter) recently amended his defamation lawsuit to claim he lost projects worth nearly $200 million after being accused of s*xual assault. Independent reporter Meghann Cuniff shared an update with scans of the legal filing in an X post on Monday, May 5.
In the amended complaint, Jigga (an alias Carter goes by) outlined the losses he incurred since a Jane Doe accuser named him in a lawsuit against Diddy last December. According to the rapper, these losses stemmed from losing sports and entertainment-related contracts, a personal line of credit, and a loan.
Notably, the rapper filed his defamation suit against Doe and her lawyer, Tony Buzbee, on March 3, just days after they "voluntarily withdrew" her case against Carter.
Jay-Z's filing accused Tony Buzbee of editing Wikipedia pages to damage his reputation
In his amended filing, Jay-Z alleged he lost out on performance contracts that would have garnered at least $20 million. He claimed the amount would have been higher had he performed. Furthermore, he was denied a $55 million personal loan (line of credit) and a business loan (Roc Nation) of $115 million due to the false allegations.
The filing stated that Tony Buzbee's actions "undermined" Jay-Z and his company Roc Nation's relationship with businesses in the sports and entertainment sectors. Elaborating on the nature of the contracts, the legal document explained:
"We have agreements to produce entertainment programs for certain sporting events."
It is worth noting that the sports contracts mentioned in Jay-Z's amended complaint, totaling roughly $20 million, were referenced in an earlier filing.
According to Digital Music News, to illustrate the strained relationship with business partners, the filing brought up NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's announcement at the end of the league’s winter meeting last year (December 2024). At that time, Goodell revealed that Roc Nation would continue to produce its Super Bowl Halftime Show. The filing explained:
"After Mr. Buzbee filed the lawsuit, the media reported that other businesses could end their deals with Roc Nation, and forced one to speak out and address whether these false allegations would end our business relationship."
It also accused Buzbee and his team of "edit(ing) Wikipedia pages" to enhance "Buzbee’s image" and damage that of Jay-Z and Roc Nation. It alleged that they made over 100 positive edits.
The filing claimed this was done in hopes that Hov would fear "reputational assassination" and cave in to "pay" the attorney. Essentially, it accused Buzbee of extortion (via a settlement).
Notably, Monday's amended filing listed co-counsel Antigone Curis as a co-defendant. Although Jane Doe is also a co-defendant, the rapper has opted not to "expose" her identity as a "courtesy."
The Jane Doe accuser initially sued Diddy for s*xual assault in October 2024. However, she refiled it in December to include Jay-Z as a co-defendant. Per the lawsuit, the rapper took turns r*ping the victim, who was 13 at the time, during an MTV VMA after-party in 2000.
The rapper denied all allegations. He accused Buzbee of trying to extort money from innocent celebrities through blackmail by associating them with Diddy. Notably, Buzbee is the same lawyer who has filed dozens of s*xual assault lawsuits against the Bad Boy Records founder since last October.
In an interview with NBC News (December 2024), the accuser admitted to inconsistencies in her story, even stating she might have made a "mistake in identifying" her abuser. However, she asserted that the incident did occur. By February 2025, her case was dismissed after Buzbee filed a motion to "voluntarily withdraw" the suit.
At the time, Jay-Z celebrated the news but criticized the Texas-based attorney in an X post, writing:
"(He) gets to file a suit behind Jane Doe, and when they quickly realize that the money grab is going to fail, they get to walk away with no repercussions. The system has failed."
Hov sued Buzbee and his co-counsel, David Fortney, for defamation in March. He claimed they "pushed" Jane Doe to go forward with the "false narrative" to "leverage a maximum payday."
Buzbee, for his part, called the suit "baloney" and meritless. He alleged that Jay-Z "harassed and threatened" his client for weeks to make her recant her story.
The Houston-based attorney has not publicly commented on the new amended complaint.
