A U.S. District Court judge ruled that the woman accusing rapper Jay-Z of rape can proceed anonymously in her lawsuit.
The decision, handed down by Judge Analisa Torres on December 26, reflects the court's recognition of the “highly sensitive and extremely personal” nature of the accusations.
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 8, alleges that Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, and music mogul Sean Combs (Diddy) raped a 13-year-old girl in 2000. Both men denied the allegations and Carter labeled them as “heinous in nature” and an “attempted blackmail.”
Judge Torres stated that allowing the plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, to remain anonymous is necessary “at least for this stage of the litigation.”
He also criticized Jay-Z's legal team for what he described as a “relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks,” calling the approach “a waste of judicial resources” and “inappropriate.”
Jay-Z's representatives have not commented on the ruling. However, her legal team launched a countersuit against Jane Doe's attorney, Tony Buzbee, accusing him of extortion and defamation.
The lawsuit alleges that Buzbee's demand letter provided only two weeks for Carter to agree to confidential mediation involving allegations of drugging and raping two minors.
Buzbee dismissed the counterclaims, saying, “This is just another attempt to intimidate me. “It just won’t work.”
He also filed a separate lawsuit accusing Roc Nation, Jay-Z's entertainment company, of influencing former clients to make false claims against him. Roc Nation has denied the allegations, calling them “nonsense” and a “pathetic attempt to distract and divert attention.”
Jane Doe, now 35, recently admitted during a video interview with NBC News to making “some mistakes” in her recollection of the events. However, her lawsuit, filed under New York's Gender Violence Victim Protection Act, seeks unspecified damages.
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