On Thursday, December 26, 2024, Judge Analisa Torres backed an Alabama woman’s decision to remain anonymous as she files a civil lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter. However, Torres did acknowledge that she may need to reveal her identity as the case progresses. Torres also admonished Carter’s attorney, Alex Spiro, for using what she described as “inflammatory language” against the plaintiff’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee.
“Carter’s lawyer’s relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks is inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client,” Torres stated.
“The Court will not fast-track the judicial process merely because counsel demands it.”
In October, Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee filed a civil lawsuit accusing Combs of raping his client hours after the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards when she was only 13 years old. On Sunday, December 8, 2024, Buzbee amended the lawsuit to include Carter, who immediately denied the accusations levied against him.
“May lawyer received a blackmail attempt called a demand letter from a ‘lawyer’ named Tony Buzbee. He [thought] the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle. No, sir. It had the opposite effect. It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a very public fashion. So, no. I will not give you one red penny,” Carter stated.
“These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one! [Whoever] would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”
Shortly after Jay-Z issued his initial statement, Buzbee took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to present a response. Buzbee claims he has never “demanded a penny” from Carter and said that he has attempt to “bully and harass” him.
“Mr. Carter previously denied being the one who sued me and my firm. He filed his frivolous case under a pseudonym. What he fails to say in his recent statement is [that] my firm sent his lawyer a demand letter on behalf of an alleged victim, and that victim never demanded a penny from him,” Buzbee said.
“Instead, she only sought a confidential mediation. Since I sent the letter on her behalf, Mr. Carter has not only sued me, but he has tried to bully and harass me and this plaintiff. His conduct has had the opposite impact. She is emboldened. I’m very proud of her resolve. As far as the allegations in the complaint filed, we will let the filing speak for itself and will litigate the facts in court, not in the media.”
Not long after Buzbee issued a response, his client sat down with NBC News to address inconsistencies in her initial account of what took place. The accuser indicated that her father picked her up after the “catastrophic event” took place. The accuser also claims she spoke to a particular musician on the night in question, but that musician said he was not in the state of New York during the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Furthermore, images of Combs and Carter from the evening in question do not match the accuser’s description of the location where the incident allegedly occurred.
“Jane Doe’s case was referred to our firm by another, who vetted it prior to sending it to us,” Buzbee told NBC News.
“Our client remains fiercely adamant that what she has stated is true, to the best of her memory. We will continue to vet her claims and collect corroborating data to the extent it exists. Because we have interrogated her intensely, she has even agreed to submit to a polygraph. I’ve never had a client suggest that before.”
