Jay-Z provoked outrage from a judge after the court heard of a plot by the billionaire rapper to expose the identity of a woman who accuses him of raping her as a child.
The music mogul, whose real name is Shawn Carter, faced a scathing rebuke for “wasting court resources.”
It comes amid Carter’s fight against a woman who accused him of raping her when she was 13.
Carter has made several attempts through his lawyer Alex Spiro to quash the case or force the woman to be publicly identified.
The famous rap star has also been accused of trying to intimidate those who made allegations against him and disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
On Thursday, Judge Analisa Torres sided with his accuser, granting the woman anonymity for the next stage of proceedings.
The judge also blasted Spiro in the process.
The woman, referred to only as Jane Doe, alleges Carter, along with 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.
She described them as “combative” and filled with “inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks.”
The judge 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.”
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’s 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.
Judge Torres emphasized 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 claims the lawsuit against him is part of an extortion attempt.
Buzbee is a well-known name in Texas courtrooms who has won billions of dollars in settlements for his clients.
The lawyer 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.
He 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’s 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 VMAs afterparty.
However, 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,” Buzbee said of the accuser.
“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.
They emerged 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.”
Combs also appeared on Jay-Z’s sophomore album, “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1.”
