Jay-Z files defamation suit against sexual assault accuser

Jay-Z has filed a defamation lawsuit against a woman who accused him of sexual assault.

The woman, referred to by court documents as Jane Doe, alleged that Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter, and Sean 'Diddy' Combs raped her at age 13 in 2000 in a lawsuit submitted in December. The case was withdrawn by Doe in February.

Carter filed a claim in Alabama on March 3, accusing Doe and her lawyers, Tony Buzbee and David Fortney, of attempting to extort him "with the false narrative of the assault by Mr. Carter in order to leverage a maximum payday."

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

The suit also alleges that Doe's legal team pressured her to go forward with the initial legal claim, and further pushed her to repeat the allegations in a television interview on NBC News.

"Like the case in LA, this new case in Alabama also has no legal merit," Buzbee said in a statement to Variety. "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."

"This is just another attempt to intimidate and bully this poor woman that we will deal with in due course," he added. "We won't be bullied or intimidated by frivolous cases."

Buzbee and his legal firm have also filed a wave of lawsuits against Combs, who remains in jail awaiting trial for a number of other crimes of a sexual nature.

Carter is suing for defamation, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and civil conspiracy. He is seeking damages, both real and punitive, citing damage to his family, reputation, and $20 million (€19 million) in lost revenue for Roc Nation.