JAY-Z has issued a fiery response to allegations against him in a lawsuit filed by attorney Tony Buzbee, dismissing the claims as an elaborate construction of inaccuracies and insisting on financial sanctions against the lawyer.
The rapper and business mogul is seeking to have the lawsuit tossed out in federal court. He wants a judge to smack the Houston-based attorney with sanctions for what his legal team has depicted as a deliberate act of misconduct.
JAY-Z’S attorneys argue that the case — brought forth by an unnamed woman — lacks any basis in fact and fails to meet the minimum standards of legal due diligence.
JAY-Z’s high-profile attorney, Alex Spiro, delivered a pointed critique of Buzbee’s actions, asserting that the claims were riddled with verifiable falsehoods and devoid of substantive evidence.
“It was Mr. Buzbee’s responsibility to conduct a factual investigation into the allegations before he signed the complaint, not afterward,” Spiro fumed.
He further called for the court to impose monetary penalties on Buzbee and his firm, suggesting the attorney’s approach was predicated on sensationalism rather than truth.
The lawsuit centers on accusations from Jane Doe, who alleges she was assaulted at an afterparty following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City.
According to the complaint, the alleged incident occurred at a grand white mansion with a gated, U-shaped driveway.
However, JAY-Z’s latest legal filing dismantled this narrative, presenting documented evidence that places the rapper at the now-defunct Lotus nightclub in Manhattan during the same evening.
Public records corroborated by photographs show JAY-Z attending the famous hotspot that night, making the party described by Jane Doe highly improbable.
Adding to the contradictions in Jane Doe’s account is her claim of speaking with musician Benji Madden about his “Last Supper” tattoo during the party.
However, Madden is reported to have been in Chicago for a Good Charlotte performance on that date, a fact that could have been easily verified.
Another critical piece of the lawsuit, Jane Doe’s statement that she viewed the VMAs on a Jumbotron outside Radio City Music Hall before approaching limousine drivers to gain entry to an exclusive afterparty, has also been disputed.
According to city records, MTV was denied a permit for a Jumbotron that year, and police barricades prevented public access to limousines in the vicinity.
Spiro further highlighted that Jane Doe’s father, listed as a corroborating witness in her filing, denied recollection of pivotal events described in the lawsuit.
According to the father’s deposition, he has no memory of picking his daughter up from a gas station after the alleged assault — a central part of Jane Doe’s narrative.
The father said, “I feel like I would remember that, and I don’t… that’s something that would definitely stick in my mind.”
JAY-Z’s filing excoriated Buzbee for failing to vet such glaring inconsistencies.
His filing characterized this lack of corroboration as damning to the case’s overall credibility, noting the court should weigh heavily on such discrepancies when assessing the merits of the plaintiff’s claims.
In no uncertain terms, JAY-Z’s legal team portrayed Buzbee as a repeat offender who pursued unfounded high-profile cases for financial gain and media attention.
They pointed out that the lawyer has filed over 15 similar lawsuits against celebrities, including Sean “Diddy” Combs, accompanied by questionable tactics like launching 1-800 hotlines to drum up additional claims.
“attorneys should not be permitted to destroy a person’s reputation by alleging facts without a sufficient investigation or by failing to withdraw those allegations once it is clear that they are false or exceedingly unlikely to be true,” Alex Spiro said in his motion to have the case thrown out.
The court is now tasked with determining whether Buzbee’s actions warrant dismissal and penalties.