A woman who withdrew her legal action in February, after accusing Jay-Z of rape, is now being sued by the rapper.

According to his defamation lawsuit, she “voluntarily admitted” to being pressured into making false claims, which the suit describes as part of an “evil conspiracy” aimed at extorting money and damaging his reputation.

Initially, the anonymous woman filed her lawsuit in October before refiling it in December, accusing Jay-Z—whose real name is Shawn Carter—and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her when she was 13, following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.

The allegations were denied by both rappers.

In a federal court filing in Alabama, Jay-Z’s defamation lawsuit also names the woman’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, and his co-counsel, David Fortney, accusing them of orchestrating the lawsuit.

International attention has followed Mr. Buzbee due to his involvement in multiple legal cases filed on behalf of individuals accusing Mr. Combs of sexual misconduct, extortion, assault, and other offenses.

All allegations against him have been denied by Mr. Combs.

Additionally, he is facing federal charges related to sex trafficking and racketeering, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

As stated in Jay-Z’s defamation lawsuit, the woman allegedly informed his legal team that her lawyers compelled her to make the false allegations.

“She said Buzbee brought Jay-Z into it,” the lawsuit states.

Even after admitting that Jay-Z “did not sexually assault [her],” the defamation suit claims that Mr. Buzbee “pushed [her] towards going forward” with the fabricated story to strengthen the case and extract more money.

Further discrepancies in the woman’s account were also highlighted in Jay-Z’s lawsuit, including inconsistencies in her NBC News interview last year, where she named a celebrity guest at the MTV party who was actually performing in a city thousands of miles away that night.

Her claim that her father had picked her up after the alleged assault was also contradicted by her father, according to the lawsuit.

The defamation case argues that Mr. Buzbee’s law firm failed to properly vet both the claims and the woman, who, according to the suit, has a history of mental health issues and an assault charge.

Denying any wrongdoing, Mr. Buzbee has accused Jay-Z’s legal team of trying to pressure the woman into retracting her statements.

Jay-Z’s lawsuit, he said, has “no legal merit,” according to a statement obtained by BBC News.

“Shawn Carter’s investigators have repeatedly harassed, threatened and harangued this poor woman for weeks, trying to intimidate her and make her recant her story,” Mr. Buzbee stated.

“She won’t – instead, she has stated repeatedly she stands by her claims.”

Married to Beyoncé, Jay-Z asserts that these allegations have caused both personal and professional harm, leading to an estimated $20 million (£15.8m) annual loss in business contracts for his company, Roc Nation, and taking an emotional toll on his family, particularly his children.