1 surprising line gives Jay-Z extortion case new hope
A California appeals court on Thursday, Oct. 1, left the door open for Jay-Z to restart his extortion case against Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee, a week after the woman who accused the rapper of rape recanted. The court refused to rehear the appeal itself but added a single sentence that sends the Jay-Z extortion case back toward the trial court, Billboard reported.
“Our decision shall not prevent the trial court from ordering discovery and reconsidering its prior ruling based on any new evidence, should that court deem it appropriate,” the three-judge panel wrote in the order obtained by Billboard.
Why the court said no, then left a door open
Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, had asked the panel to rehear the case, calling his accuser’s reversal “explosive new evidence.” That was a long shot. Appeals courts generally review only the record built in the lower court and do not weigh fresh evidence, so Carter needed the judges to treat his situation as an exception.
They declined. But unlike the version issued last month, which simply upheld the dismissal, the revised ruling tells the Los Angeles County Superior Court judge that he may reopen the Jay-Z extortion case and allow the discovery Carter wants.
“We are pleased that the Court of Appeal has invited us to ask the Superior Court to order discovery and reconsider its prior ruling based on the recent declaration from Ms. Doe,” Carter’s attorney, Jeremy Rosen, said in a statement. He said the team will file that request in the Jay-Z extortion case once it returns to the trial court.
Buzbee’s lawyers claim the bigger win
Buzbee’s legal team read the order in the Jay-Z extortion case differently. In a statement to Billboard, his attorneys said the court “rejected Carter’s latest effort to disturb its ruling” and noted it did so “without even requesting a response.”
“The Court simply noted that the trial court retains its existing authority to consider new evidence if it chooses to do so,” they said. The upheld ruling would also let Buzbee seek to have Carter cover his legal fees.
In a separate New York filing, one of Buzbee’s lawyers called the accuser’s retraction a “bought-and-paid-for declaration,” without offering evidence for that claim, Rolling Stone reported.
How the Jay-Z extortion case got here
- November 2024: Buzbee sent Carter a demand letter seeking money to resolve a Jane Doe’s allegation that he raped her, according to Rolling Stone.
- Late 2024: Carter filed the Jay-Z extortion case, suing Buzbee for extortion and defamation and calling the claims a “blackmail attempt.” In December, Buzbee’s firm amended a lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs to name Carter, alleging both men assaulted the woman, then 13, at an after-party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.
- Feb. 14, 2025: The woman dropped her lawsuit against Carter.
- 2025: A Los Angeles judge dismissed Carter’s case, finding no evidence that Buzbee knew the claims were false or extorted him.
- September 2026: The appeals court upheld that dismissal.
- Sept. 24, 2026: In an 11-page sworn declaration filed in Manhattan federal court, the woman said her accusations were false and that she had never met Carter.
- Oct. 1, 2026: The appeals court denied rehearing but revised its ruling to let the trial judge consider the new evidence.
“Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter never raped me. I have never met or spoken to Mr. Carter,” she wrote, according to Rolling Stone. Buzbee told the outlet that at least four lawyers dealt with her before she met him and that she gave each the same story. If she now says she lied, he wrote, “that’s new information.”
What comes next in the Jay-Z extortion case
The dispute now heads back to Superior Court, where Carter’s lawyers plan to ask the judge for discovery and a fresh look at the dismissal. No hearing date has been set. Carter is also pursuing a separate malicious prosecution suit against Buzbee and his firm in New York.
For more, read about Jay-Z’s surprise appearance at Beyoncé’s Paris show, plus our latest music news and celebrity coverage.