Jay-Z's Empire Strikes Back: Secret Email Could Destroy Fat Joe $20M Lawsuit

Roc Nation is countering a $20 million lawsuit against rapper Fat Joe, which it is calling a strategic effort to defame the company and try to pressure it into a settlement.

The company, which was started by Jay-Z, requested a federal judge to throw out the suit and sanction lawyer Tyrone Blackburn, who is representing plaintiff Terrance "T.A." Dixon.

Roc Nation claims an email from Blackburn himself confirms the suit was filed in bad faith.

As reported by Roc Nation, Blackburn noted in an email that the company "may have been defrauded by Fat Joe as well," a statement the company's lawyers described as a "devastating" concession that guts the whole case.

"This lawsuit was meant to harass and embarrass Roc Nation on the public stage," the company stated in its motion.

The email, which arrived hours after Roc Nation had moved to dismiss the case, is now at the heart of the company's case.

Roc Nation is arguing that the email demonstrates that Dixon and Blackburn did not have legitimate reasons to involve the company and were simply looking to generate public outcry.

Blackburn did not respond to the email in his motion response, which Roc Nation interpreted as another act of misconduct.

The lawsuit, originally brought in June, charges Fat Joe with forced sex acts, monitoring, threats, and withholding payment from Dixon, who had worked with the rapper for 15 years.

Dixon's complaint also charged that Fat Joe had sex with underage women and laundered cash using assistance from Roc Nation.

Fat Joe disclaimed the accusations, referring to them as "disgusting lies" and vowing to battle them legally.

Roc Nation insists there is no basis for the accusations against the firm. It requested the judge to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, so it could not be refiled, and sanction Blackburn for what it described as a history of filing high-profile but frivolous lawsuits.

The judge has not yet made a ruling.

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