Jay-Z Accuser Battles to Maintain ‘Jane Doe’ Confidentiality
Photo Credit: Sue Winston
Jay-Z’s legal team fights to uncloak his Jane Doe rape accuser, as she urges the judge to allow her to maintain her anonymity.Jay-Z’s defamation lawsuit against an anonymous woman who alleges he raped her when she was 13 remains hampered by the woman’s unwillingness to publicly reveal her identity. Her controversial attorney, Tony Buzbee, has implored the presiding judge to allow his Jane Doe client to remain anonymous.
Buzbee’s team’s latest filing contains a report from Jane Doe’s psychiatrist, detailing that revealing her identity would have “catastrophic consequences for her mental health.” Notably, while the public is not aware of the woman’s identity, Jay-Z and his legal team are.
“From a psychiatric standpoint, the forced disclosure of her identity in this context would have catastrophic consequences for her mental health,” the report read. “Such public exposure would destabilize her current mental health recovery. The impact would likely be severe, with a high risk of exacerbation of her psychiatric symptoms, deterioration of her functioning, and a profound negative effect on her overall prognosis.”
Jane Doe initially claimed that Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs raped her when she was 13, but she dropped her lawsuit after numerous discrepancies were uncovered in her account of events. Not long after she dropped her lawsuit, Jay-Z filed a countersuit, accusing her and her attorney of defamation for having brought the case in the first place.The Roc Nation founder has maintained that he has suffered significant financial harm as a result of Jane Doe’s allegations. His filing asserts he “lost other contracts in the sports and entertainment space that would have generated revenues of at least $20 million.” He says it would have been much higher if the contract had been carried out. Further, the rap legend claims he was denied a $55 million credit line, while Roc Nation itself was refused a $115 million bank loan.
Tony Buzbee and his client have made repeated—but unsuccessful—attempts to dismiss the defamation suit.
