Jay-Z asked a California appeals court to revive his extortion case against Tony Buzbee. A petition is not a reinstatement.

A petition asking an appeals court to reconsider is advocacy and a filing. It is not a reinstatement, not a finding of extortion, and not a criminal charge. TMZ reported Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, that Jay-Z, legal name Sean Carter, asked a California appeals court to reopen his civil extortion and defamation case against Tony Buzbee after Jane Doe, through new counsel, said she was mistaken in identifying Carter and that she has never met him.

TMZ, citing Rolling Stone on the filing, reported that Carter called the recantation explosive new evidence and asked for limited discovery on remand so he can try to prove the case. A request for limited discovery is a procedural ask. It is not a grant, and it is not a trial win.

Reporting said the lower court had dismissed the suit and that the appeals court had recently refused to reinstate it, with the earlier dismissal framed around Jane Doe’s wish not to proceed. Carter’s petition argues the dismissal protected Buzbee from sanctions rather than the client’s privacy. Those are competing characterizations in briefing. They are not findings.

Jane Doe’s new lawyer, James Blair Newman Jr., told TMZ that the client maintains she was a victim of sexual assault but was entirely mistaken in identifying Carter, that the allegations identifying him were false, and that she apologizes to Carter and his family. That is counsel’s statement to a reporter. It is not a court order. TMZ said it sought comment from Buzbee with no word back at publication.