Jay-Z sues Jane Doe weeks after she dropped her lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault

Jay-Z is looking to restore his "impeccable and lifetime-earned character" with a new lawsuit against an anonymous woman who'd claimed in a since-dismissed civil suit that he and Sean "Diddy" Combs sexually assaulted her as a teenager more than two decades ago.

The rapper and Roc Nation founder, whose real name is Shawn Carter, on Monday filed a complaint in Alabama federal court that alleged Jane Doe's attorney, Tony Buzbee, leveled claims against Jay-Z despite Doe's alleged admission that the hip-hop mogul did not sexually assault her.

Buzbee, Doe and attorney David Fortney are listed as defendants.

USA TODAY reached out to Fortney and Buzbee for comment. In statements to Rolling Stone and Billboard, Buzbee downplayed the legal move as an intimidation tactic.

In stark contrast to Jay-Z's claims, court documents in a separate case in California paint a different picture. In a declaration signed Thursday and filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court – where Jay-Z sued Buzbee for extortion and infliction of emotional distress in November – Doe says, "Although I ultimately chose not to pursue them, I stand by my claims in the New York Action and believe that I had a meritorious claim against Jay-Z."

Jane Doe alleges investigators 'intimidated' her into retracting sexual assault allegations against Jay-Z

She also details alleged run-ins with investigators purportedly working for Jay-Z's lawyers. Doe says she'd been allegedly "cornered" by investigators working for the rapper's lawyers on Feb. 21. She claims she refused the pair's request to sign an affidavit confirming the accusations in her December lawsuit were false.

"They also asked me if Mr. Buzbee sought me out as a client, and whether Mr. Buzbee offered to pay me to pursue a false claim against Jay-Z. I told them that neither of those things ever happened, and I asked them to leave me alone," her filing, obtained by USA TODAY, states. "I felt intimidated and terrified at being confronted by these two individuals on my doorstep, and that they knew my name and home address despite me being anonymous in the New York Action."

Doe also alleges her mother and father were approached by investigators − both together and separately − with requests to sign affidavits claiming Doe's accusations were false. She writes, "In all instances my parents refused to sign any affidavits, denied the investigators' claims about my case and Mr. Buzbee’s conduct, and asked to be left alone."

USA TODAY has reached out to Jay-Z's representative for comment.

Jane Doe: 'Fear of intimidation and retaliation from Jay-Z' led to dismissing her lawsuit

Doe's declaration also sheds light on why she voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit two weeks ago.

"Fear of intimidation and retaliation from Jay-Z and/or his associates or fans is one of the reasons that I chose not to pursue the New York Action and instructed my attorneys to dismiss it," Doe says.

"I was not prepared to undergo years of attacks, intimidation, and harassment, and ultimately chose to dismiss my claims after certain negotiations among the attorneys involved in the New York Action," she adds.

She noted it was "very alarming" for "agents" working with Jay-Z's team to allegedly trace her whereabouts.

Jay-Z claims malicious prosecution, defamation in new lawsuit against Jane Doe

Meanwhile, Jay-Z's filing in Alabama states the defendants – Doe, Buzbee and Fortney – made a "desperate attempt to leverage Mr. Carter into an extortionate payoff which these malicious actors presented as the only path for Mr. Carter to prevent the public prosecution of a lawsuit by Doe."

The "depraved attack," Jay-Z's attorneys say, began with an attempt "to extort Mr. Carter beginning on November 5, 2024, through a menacing 'private' 'demand letter.'" In a statement to USA TODAY that month in response to Jay-Z's extortion lawsuit in California, Buzbee said his firm sent a "standard demand letter" on behalf of two clients alleging sexual assault to an attorney for the alleged perpetrator.

"The letters were sent seeking a confidential mediation in lieu of filing a lawsuit. No amount of money was included in the demand letters. No threats were made," Buzbee's Nov. 18 statement said. "The demand letters sent are no different than the ones routinely sent by lawyers across the country in all types of cases."

Jay-Z's lawsuit claims malicious prosecution, abuse of process, civil conspiracy and defamation. The last claim is only aimed at Doe.

His filing states Doe "voluntarily admitted directly to representatives of Mr. Carter that the story brought before the world in court and on global television was just that: a false, malicious story."

Specifics about the alleged admission were not included.

It continues to allege that she "admitted that Mr. Carter did not assault her; and that indeed it was Buzbee himself ... who pushed her to go forward with the false narrative of the assault by Mr. Carter in order to leverage a maximum payday."

Jay-Z's team also casts doubts on Doe's credibility by claiming she "has several mental health disorders" and suffers from financial and family-related hardships. They also point to an NBC News investigation into Doe's claims that revealed inconsistencies in her recollection of details from the 2000 incident. In December, she admitted to the outlet that she'd "made some mistakes" but otherwise stood by her claims.

Doe's October lawsuit, which was amended in December to include Jay-Z as a defendant, caused him "to suffer ... harm to his personal and professional reputation." This allegedly includes "harm to his business entity, Roc Nation — which resulted in his business suffering substantial losses in excess of $20 million — out-of-pocket loss, and emotional harm, humiliation, and harassment."

His team is seeking a jury trial that would award them damages.

Tony Buzbee calls Jay-Z's lawsuit 'baloney'

In a statement to Billboard, the Texas-based attorney said: "This case is baloney and has no legal merit. Shawn Carter’s investigators have repeatedly harassed, threatened and harangued this poor woman for weeks trying to intimidate her and make her recant her story. She won't."

The statement continued: "Instead she has stated repeatedly she stands by her claims. These same group of investigators have been caught on tape offering to pay people to sue me and my firm. This is just another attempt to intimidate and bully this poor woman that we will deal with in due course."

This story was updated to add new information.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jay-Z sues woman, attorney Tony Buzbee over sexual assault lawsuit