Jay-Z faced 'mental anguish' due to rape lawsuit

Jay-Z has blasted the "mental anguish" he experienced after being accused of raping a 13-year-old girl.

The 55-year-old rapper and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs had been accused by an unnamed woman of drugging and raping her at an after-party for the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City when she was a teenager, but the lawsuit was dismissed a few days ago, and the '99 Problems' hitmaker is suing his anonymous accuser's attorney, Tony Buzbee, for emotional distress.

In a declaration filed in Los Angeles and obtained by People magazine, Jay - who has daughter Blue Ivy, 13, and twins Rumi and Sir, seven, with wife Beyonce - alleged he had lost $20 million in contracts since the lawsuit was filed in October 2024.

And he accused the lawyer of purposely inflicting emotional distress by deliberately filing the complaint the evening before his daughter's movie premiere for 'Mufasa: The Lion King' to "put me in the position of having to choose between supporting my daughter or hiding to avoid the negative press."

He added: "I felt that Mr. Buzbee was placing a gun to my head that I either bow to his demands or endure personal and financial ruin."

Jay - whose real name is Shawn Carter - filed the suit against Buzbee for civil extortion, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress several months ago but only submitted his declaration this week.

After the rape case was dismissed with prejudice, the Roc Nation founder hit out at the "trauma" it had caused for his family.

He said in a statement: "Today is a victory. The frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations have been dismissed. This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere.

"The fictional tale they created was laughable, if not for the seriousness of the claims. I would not wish this experience on anyone. The trauma that my wife, my children, loved ones and I have endured can never be dismissed.

“The court must protect victims, OF COURSE, while with the same ethical responsibility, the courts must protect the innocent from being accused without a shred of evidence. May the truth prevail for all victims and those falsely accused equally.”

Jay has always denied the allegations and had made several attempts through his lawyer to kill the case or force the woman to be publicly identified.

Buzbee’s firm is representing more than 100 alleged victims of Combs, and has filed a flood of suits against Diddy since he was jailed in September to await trial on charges including sex trafficking and racketeering – all of which he denies.