Jay-Z is asking a California appeals court to reopen the door on his extortion and defamation claims after the woman who accused him of rape formally recanted her allegations.
The rapper, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, filed a petition for rehearing after an appeals court recently declined to revive his lawsuit against attorney Tony Buzbee and his law firm.
Jay-Z’s filing calls the woman’s new sworn declaration “explosive new evidence” and argues it should allow his claims to move forward.
“Jane Doe’s declaration proves that discovery would yield evidence supporting Carter’s claims,” the petition states. “Fairness and due process require this court to grant rehearing.”
In her declaration, the woman revealed, “Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter never raped me. I have never met or spoken to Mr. Carter.” She also wrote, “There is no truth to any of my claims against Mr. Carter.”
Jay-Z argues the recantation undercuts the reasoning used to dismiss his California case.
The appeals court had previously found that Buzbee’s demand letter was sent in anticipation of litigation and that Jay-Z had not shown Buzbee acted with actual malice.
Buzbee has defended how he handled the original allegations.
“If for some reason now she is claiming she lied to us and the court, that’s new information,” he previously said.
Jay-Z is also continuing a separate malicious prosecution case in New York against Buzbee and his firm.