# Jay-Z’s Extortion Lawsuit Against Lawyer Over Child Rape Claim Dismissed By Appeals Court

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/jay-zs-extortion-lawsuit-against-lawyer-over-child-rape-claim-dismissed-by-appeals-court/
- Published: 2026-09-11T09:37:05+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-11T15:48:41+00:00
- Original publisher: Billboard
- Original article: https://www.billboard.com/pro/jay-z-extortion-lawsuit-rape-claim-dismissed-appeals-court/

## Key points

- Appeals court says Jay-Z can't sue lawyer Tony Buzbee over dropped rape claim.
- Court found no evidence Buzbee knowingly lied or acted recklessly.
- Buzbee says he'll now seek his legal fees from Jay-Z.

## Summary

A California appeals court has ruled that Jay-Z cannot sue attorney Tony Buzbee for extortion or defamation over a now-abandoned lawsuit that accused the rapper of raping a 13-year-old girl alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs. In its ruling, the Second Appellate District found no evidence Buzbee knew the allegations were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth, noting his firm's own investigations had led him to genuinely believe the claims. Buzbee, who filed dozens of separate abuse cases against Combs, told Billboard he now intends to recover the legal fees and costs he spent fighting Jay-Z's countersuit.

The saga began in December 2024 when Buzbee added Jay-Z to one of his Combs-related lawsuits, alleging the pair had drugged and assaulted a teenager after the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards; Jay-Z denounced it as a "blackmail attempt" and pursued his own extortion claim, while Buzbee dropped the rape case in February 2025. Central to Jay-Z's case was a recording in which the anonymous accuser reportedly said Buzbee had pressured her to lie, but both a lower court and the appeals panel ruled the tape inadmissible hearsay, concluding the woman may simply have cooperated with investigators out of fear of being publicly named. A trial judge had already dismissed Jay-Z's suit last year for failing to show "actual malice", a ruling the appeals court has now upheld in full.

## Coverage

- [Billboard: Jay-Z’s Extortion Lawsuit Against Lawyer Over Child Rape Claim Dismissed By Appeals Court](https://www.billboard.com/pro/jay-z-extortion-lawsuit-rape-claim-dismissed-appeals-court/)
- [Rolling Stone: Jay-Z Loses Appeal to Revive Extortion and Defamation Lawsuit Against Lawyer Who Filed Rape Claim](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/jay-z-loses-appeal-extortion-lawsuit-combs-buzbee-1235625033/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.