Tony Buzbee accuses Jay-Z of ‘harassing’ his family after being named in an anonymous lawsuit alleging sexual assault by him and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs involving a 13-year-old girl.
Jay-Z denies the allegations, calling it a ‘blackmail attempt’ and expressing concern for his children, fearing they may face harassment due to the claims.
Shortly after the accusations surfaced, Jay-Z and his family attended the premiere of Blue Ivy’s debut in the movie Mufasa: The Lion King as a show of unity.
Blue Ivy, who provides the voice for the Kiara character in the Disney film, posed with her parents on the red carpet last night.
Beyonce’s mother, Tina Knowles, also joined the family on the red carpet. Ms Knowles had previously liked a post on Instagram about the allegations against her son-in-law.
The post she liked was shared on Instagram by abc7Chicago and was captioned: ‘Breaking news: Jay-Z, Diddy named in lawsuit alleging rape of girl, 13.’ Her social media move was spotted by eagle-eyed followers.
In a seemingly growing war of words, Mr Buzbee has attacked the Empire State of Mind singer on social media.
In a long post shared on X – formerly Twitter – Mr Buzbee said that the New York Times had approached him with claims that he had tried to ‘extort and blackmail’ Jay-Z.
Jay-Z with Beyonce last night. He immediately hit back at the allegations insisting he is the victim of a ‘blackmail attempt’ and fears his three children with Beyonce will have to ‘endure’ harassment in the wake of the shocking allegations
Jay-Z with Beyonce, Blue Ivy and his mother-in-law Tina Knowles. Just hour after the allegations emerged the family put on a united front as they attended the premier of Blue Ivy’s feature film debut in Mufasa: The Lion King
Blue Ivy, who provides the voice for the Kiara character in the Disney film, posed with her parents on the red carpet last night
Tony Buzabee claimed that the rapper and husband to Beyonce is attempting to divert attention after his name was added to an anonymous lawsuit accusing him and Diddy of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl
In response, he called Jay-Z’s claims ‘bogus and laughable’ and he even quoted Shakespeare.
Mr Buzbee said: ‘The New York Times contacted me to ask for my response to rapper Jay-Z’s allegation that I tried to extort and blackmail him.
‘My response is pretty straightforward. No one has made any threats. Jay Z’s assertions are bogus and laughable. Instead, our firm sent a standard demand letter seeking a mediation on behalf of a woman who alleges Jay-Z sexually assaulted her as a minor.’
He added that the letter had been vetted and approved before it was released and claimed it was ‘a coordinated and desperate effort to focus the public’s attention on me personally to avoid attention on the allegations being made by my clients.’
‘This effort has included harassing my family and colleagues and even offering former clients money to sue me—which is illegal.’
Mr Buzabee also used a quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
He wrote: ‘When an alleged perpetrator behaves in this manner, wildly asserting that a basic demand letter is “extortion,” and aggressively using the media to attack the opposing lawyer while at the same time ignoring the allegations being made by the alleged victim, it reminds me of a famous line from Shakespeare: “The lady doth protest too much, methinks”.’
The post ended with an assertion that his clients ‘won’t be silenced.’
This follows a statement from Jay-Z, shared with DailyMail.com on Sunday, where he claimed he was worried about Blue Ivy, 12 because she will face questions from her friends about the lawsuit.
He said: ‘My only heartbreak is for my family.
‘My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people.’
Jay-Z, who was accused of the assault at a party after the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, said he mourned ‘yet another loss of innocence’ and declared that his ‘children should not have to endure’ the graphic accusations at their young age.
In a seemingly growing war of words, Mr Buzbee has attacked the Empire State of Mind singer on social media
Jay-Z with Beyonce and his daughter Blue Ivy last night. In a statement , shared with DailyMail.com on Sunday, Jay-Z claimed he was worried about Blue Ivy, 12 because she will face questions from her friends about the lawsuit
Jay-Z with P Diddy. He been accused of the assault at a party after the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards
‘It is unfair to have to try to understand inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirit,’ he said.
The accuser, who identifies herself as Jane Doe in the legal documents reviewed by Dailymail.com, says she was assaulted at a party after the award show, which took place September 7, 2000 at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.
The lawsuit had initially been filed in New York’s Southern District this past October against Combs, with a refiling on Sunday that identified the rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter.
Jay-Z issued a lengthy statement to DailyMail.com on Sunday denying the claims made in the re-filed lawsuit.
Mr Buzbee had previously shared a photo of him in uniform as a platoon commander, claiming people were harassing him and his family following the accusations against Jay-Z.
In that post he did not accuse Jay-Z of engaging in any of the harassment.
‘Recognize this guy?’ Buzbee asked as he shared the photo from his time in the Marines. ‘This is a picture of the Weapons Platoon Commander, Alpha Company, First Battalion, Fourth Marines from our old Western Pacific cruise book.
‘Despite a coordinated and aggressive effort that has included harassing my kids, contacting my clients and former clients to encourage them to sue me, contacting my colleagues and former employees asking if I’ve “abused” them, showing up at my current employee’s house to harass them, filing frivolous cases against me and my law firm defaming me with outrageous assertions to anyone who will listen and having mysterious people follow me and my family, I’m still THAT guy.
‘I won’t be bullied or intimidated,’ he continued.
‘People will see through this effort to discredit me and my clients, and the truth will be revealed.
‘I also won’t allow anyone to scare my clients into silence,’ Buzbee said. ‘Sunlight is the best disinfectant and I am quite certain the sun is coming.’
The lawyer has filed more than 100 lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual assault.
Mr Buzbee had previously shared a photo of him in uniform as a platoon commander, claiming people were harassing him and his family
Many of the suits did not survive because the plaintiffs declined to have their identities unveiled.
But a judge had ruled that one case alleging that Combs and Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old girl at an after party following the MTV Video Music Awards in September of 2000 may move forward, saying the victim showed sufficient cause to continue with the suit in anonymity.
It had originally been filed in New York’s Southern District this past October against Combs, with a refiling on Sunday naming Jay-Z, 55, whose real name is Shawn Carter, as a defendant.
The suit alleges that the then-teenager took a drink at the VMA afterparty that had ‘a reddish-yellow mixture that tasted like orange juice, cranberry juice, and something bitter’ and ‘began to feel woozy and lightheaded, making her need to lie down.’
She claimed she laid down in ‘what appeared to be an empty bedroom’ and then Combs, Jay-Z and a female celebrity referred to as “Celebrity B” entered the room.
‘Combs aggressively approached Plaintiff with a crazed look in his eyes, grabbed her, and said, “You are ready to party!”‘ legal documents read.
The accuser said in the lawsuit that Combs threw her ‘toward a wall,’ leading her to fall, then ‘grabbed her again and threw her on the bed.’
She went on to claim that Jay-Z began stripping her down ‘as she grew more and more disoriented’ and held her down as ‘he vaginally raped her, while Combs and Celebrity B watched.
‘After [Jay-Z] finished, he stepped back toward the wall. Combs then stepped forward and vaginally raped Plaintiff while Carter and Celebrity B watched,’ the suit says.
According to legal docs, ‘another celebrity stood by and watched as Combs and Carter took turns assaulting the minor. Many others were present at the after party, but did nothing to stop the assault.
The accuser also said that Combs tried to force her ‘to perform oral sex on him,’ at which point she ‘fought back, standing up quickly and punching out at the same time, hitting Combs in the neck,’ at which point he ‘stopped his attempt.’
The alleged victim now ‘suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and a seizure disorder caused by stress and trauma,’ and ‘has had difficulty maintaining normal relationships and lives largely withdrawn from society,’ according to the suit.
She is asking the court for unspecified damages in the suit, which had been filed under New York state’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act.
Combs, who is being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, has denied all of the allegations against him.
Mr Buzbee has filed more than 100 lawsuits accusing Combs of sexual assault. Many of the suits did not survive because the plaintiffs declined to have their identities unveiled
The lawyer added Jay-Z’s name to an anonymous lawsuit accusing him and Diddy of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in September 2000
Combs in September was charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and additional offenses by federal officials. He has tried in vain to get bail on three occasions.
Attorneys for Combs issued a statement to TMZ on Sunday evening calling Buzbee’s latest move one in a series of ‘shameless publicity stunts;’ and reiterated their stance on the case against Combs.
‘This amended complaint and the recent extortion 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 having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs,’ the statement read.
It continued: ‘As his legal team has said before, Mr. Combs has full confidence in the facts and the integrity of the judicial process. In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone – man or woman, adult or minor.’
