NEWS
Jay-Z‘s lawyer has told the court that the anonymous accuser’s claims against his client and Diddy are too old to pursue.
Per Rolling Stone, the lawyer, Alex Spiro, filed new court paperwork yesterday (December 30) stating plans to challenge the lawsuit on grounds that the claim does not qualify for revival under the “lookback” window linked to New York City’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act (GMVA). Spiro argued that the GMVA was not enacted until December 19, 2000, which took place three months after the alleged rape.
On December 8, it was reported that Jay-Z – real name Shawn Carter – was named in a lawsuit which alleged the rape of a 13-year-old girl in 2000 by the rapper and Diddy, real name Sean Combs.
In a statement issued via Roc Nation, Carter called the allegations “heinous in nature” and dismissed them as a “blackmail attempt”, and filed a court letter seeking the dismissal of the suit while maintaining his innocence. Combs also denies the accuser’s claims.
In Spiro’s letter to the court, obtained by Rolling Stone, he wrote: “[The GMVA] cannot apply retroactively to create a cause of action unavailable to plaintiff at the time in question. A contrary conclusion would violate both state and federal due process protections.”
The letter also cites a prior ruling that involved the dismissal of a sexual assault lawsuit against Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler by former model Jeanne Bellino, who had claimed the singer had sexually assaulted her twice in one day when she was aged 17. Tyler denied the allegations.
The presiding judge over the case dismissed the claim because it sought to use the GMVA revival window for an alleged attack, which was said to have taken place in Manhattan, New York in 1975.
In a ruling last Thursday (December 26), Judge Analisa Torres declared that the woman can proceed anonymously in the case after Jay-Z had sought to reveal her name.
The judge pointed to the “weight of the factors” including the “highly sensitive and extremely personal” nature of the claim in making her decision, arguing it “tips the favour of allowing Plaintiff to remain anonymous, at least for this stage of the litigation”.
Carter’s team had sued the accuser’s lawyer Tony Buzbee for extortion and defamation, claiming that his demand letter only gave a two-week window to commit to a “confidential mediation” regarding an alleged male and female victim. Both have claimed they were drugged and raped when they were minors.
Buzbee has called the claim “patently frivolous” and added that it “will be dismissed,” per Rolling Stone. “I’ve never said a word about him. This is just another attempt to bully and intimidate me. It just won’t work.”
It followed Buzbee filing a lawsuit against Roc Nation where he accused the company and its lawyers of using “shadowy operatives” and promising to pay Buzbee’s former clients to illegally entice them into filing “frivolous” claims against him.
Roc Nation has denied that accusation, saying the lawsuit is “baloney” and a “pathetic attempt to distract and deflect attention” from the case. “Mr. Carter is not someone who can be intimidated,” the rapper’s lawyers said, adding: “He filed this lawsuit to pre-emptively call out Buzbee for the miscreant that he is.”
Earlier this month, the unnamed accuser, known in court documents as Jane Doe, admitted to making “some mistakes” in her recollection of that night.
In a video interview with NBC News, the woman, now 35, recalled the alleged events of the night from her memory as outlined in the lawsuit.
In a statement, Carter said the “incident didn’t happen” but Buzbee “filed it in court and doubled down in the press.”
“True Justice is coming. We fight FROM victory, not FOR victory,” the rapper continued. “This was over before it began. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but, soon.”
The accuser is seeking unspecified damages, with the lawsuit filed under New York’s Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act.
Earlier this month, the NFL commented on the state of its relationship with Jay-Z and Roc Nation amid the allegations, stating that their “relationship’s not changing” with Roc Nation.
For more help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
NEWS
It has been just over seven months since Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce revealed their engagement through an Instagram post that quickly went viral.
Since that announcement, both stars have stayed extremely busy with their careers. Swift dropped her 15th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, The Life of a Showgirl, in October, selling an impressive 4 million equivalent album units. Around the same time, Kelce confirmed he would return to the Kansas City Chiefs for his 14th NFL season earlier this month.
Even though they have both expressed excitement about organizing their wedding, their current focus remains on their professional commitments.
“I’m just doing the album thing now,” Swift shared during an October interview on The Graham Norton Show after Norton asked whether wedding preparations had started. “And then I think the wedding is after that.”
After Swift and Kelce made their first joint awards show appearance at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 26, curiosity about their wedding plans has started building again.
People close to the couple, often referred to as the Tayvis circle, have mostly stayed quiet about any confirmed plans. Kelce’s mother Donna Kelce declined to comment when approached by a photographer at LAX about whether she would help with the planning. “I’m just happy. I’m so happy for them,” she said.
At the same time, Swift’s future sister in law Kylie Kelce, who is married to Travis’ brother Jason, asked listeners on her Not Gonna Lie podcast on April 2 to stop asking for insider information. “Quit asking me and my mother in law [Donna] about upcoming nuptials,” she said directly to viewers. “Nobody’s f—ing telling you anything.” She continued by saying, “I don’t have any details. I have no details. I have none. Look at that. That’s how many details I have. None. None.”
While Donna and Kylie have chosen to stay private, a handful of people within the couple’s inner circle, including Taylor and Travis themselves, have occasionally shared small insights about the wedding.
Here is what has been revealed so far about the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce wedding.
Swift is interested in having the ceremony in another location
During an interview on BBC Radio 1, host Greg James thanked Swift for supposedly inviting him to the celebration, joking that although he usually avoids destination weddings, he would gladly attend hers. When he asked where she might hold the event, Swift kept things mysterious, replying, “I’m going to let you know at a different time.”
The guest list could be very large
If you are hoping to receive an invitation to the Tayvis wedding, there might actually be a chance.
During an October 2025 appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Swift joked that Norton would eventually find out when he asked whether the wedding might take place in 2026. She clarified that she plans to invite him along with practically everyone she has spent time with.
“I know it’s going to be fun to plan because I think the only stressful weddings are the ones where you have a small amount, and people are on the bubble,” Swift said. “And you have to evaluate or assess your relationship with them to see if they should be there. I’m not going to do that.”
She added, “Anyone I’ve ever talked to.”
Watch the full clip below.
A live band will probably provide the music
It appears the couple is leaning toward live performers rather than a DJ.
On a September episode of the Kelce brothers’ New Heights podcast, guest Jimmy Fallon asked Travis whether they had begun thinking about wedding details.
“Are you gonna do DJ or band? Are you thinking about all this stuff?” Fallon asked.
Kelce answered by sharing their preference, saying, “Yeah, I think we’re live music kind of people, you know?”
Although he likely would not be the only performer, Swift hinted in an October interview with Hits Radio that her close friend and collaborator Ed Sheeran could perform during the celebration.
“It’s like, ‘Ed, if there’s a stage, you know that you’ll be on it,” Swift said. “He knows what people want and he wants to give people what they want.”
The wedding could happen before summer ends
Fans hoping for an autumn themed ceremony might be disappointed, as the couple may be considering a summer timeframe.
During a January 2025 episode of New Heights, recorded months before the engagement, Kelce explained why fall weddings can be difficult due to the football season.
“I actually don’t know people who have gotten married in the fall,” he said. “All the weddings I’ve been to, and all my friends do it in the summer.”
If they do move forward with a wedding this year, it may happen before the end of the summer. Kelce recently confirmed he would return to the Chiefs for another season, partly inspired by Swift’s dedication to her work. ESPN reporter Nate Taylor also mentioned that Kelce “plans to marry [Swift] before training camp,” which begins July 22. If they want to avoid conflicts with football, the ceremony would likely need to happen before that date.
Invitations may not have been sent yet
Even with speculation pointing toward a summer ceremony, no confirmed date has been publicly shared, and even people close to them say they are unsure.
In a September interview on SiriusXM’s Small Stage Series, Ed Sheeran said he had not yet received a save the date. He also mentioned that he found out about their engagement through Instagram just like everyone else.
“You didn’t even get a DM in advance?” host Andy Cohen asked.
“No,” Sheeran responded.
More recently, Kylie Kelce said during a January appearance on Today with Savannah Guthrie that she had no idea whether the wedding would happen this year.
“I’m not gonna lie,” Kylie admitted when discussing how little she knows about the plans.
Kylie also repeated that she has no inside information during an appearance on the podcast Conversations With Cam. “I would love to give you all the details. I don’t have them,” she said after host Cam Rogers asked what fans should expect from the wedding.
