Lizzo Under Fire for Defending Jay-Z After Rapper's Name Appears on Epstein Files, Deletes Post

Singer Lizzo came under fire for her post on TikTok defending Jay-Z after his name appeared in the latest batch of documents released by the Justice Department in relation to Jeffrey Epstein. Lizzo's defence of Jay-Z also comes with her implying that the files are not a reliable source of information.

Lizzo took to the social media platform to comment on the revelation of Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, being included in the latest batch of documents related to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The singer defended the rapper, questioning the credibility of his name appearing in the Epstein documents.

Lizzo's Defence

'The American people in the comments, "I knew she was wrong, Jay-Z, I knew he was-" what did it say Jay-Z did? He was there, in 1996? Come on, people, like, y'all are falling for it, that's the easiest, oldest trick in the book,' said the singer. 'And honestly, I'm losing faith in the average intelligence of the American person, because come on, just 'cause somebody's name is mentioned in a three million-document file of a person's life who's been lived over- crimes that spanned decades doesn't mean that every single person is an accomplice.'

'He could be mentioned-He referenced Jay-Z once,' Lizzo continued. 'He was like, "Oh we could learn from Jay-Z's business model," Why are y'all- Where the crime? Focus!'

Backlash and Deletion

Following her post, netizens criticised her defence of the rapper. Some have pointed out Lizzo's own controversy, as in 2023, Lizzo was accused of sexual harassment by three of her dancers. Lizzo has since deleted the video.

'She could have kept her mouth shut,' said one commenter.

'It's the double standard for me,' said another commenter.

'Well, the fact that she also seems to do the same could explain her defending him,' said a third netizen.

'She clearly didn't read the document.'

However, there are commenters who pointed out that Lizzo was not defending Jay-Z but rather taking a closer look at the newly released files and questioning the credibility of the claims in the document rather than immediately reacting.

Jay-Z Named in Epstein Files

Whilst the rapper's name appears in the Epstein files, his name is not found in the convicted sex offender's personal flight logs. Instead, his name was found in an FBI crisis intake reports in 2019. The allegations against Jay-Z took place in 1996, with the woman brought to a location supposedly linked to Epstein, with Jay-Z and notorious producer Harvey Weinstein present.

'In approximately 1996 [redacted] resided with [redacted] in [redacted]. An unknown man abducted [redacted] from her home whence she later awoke in the presence of Harvey Weinstein and Shawn Carter (Jay-Z) while Weinstein inserted his fingers into [redacted]. [redacted] believes she was in Epstein's mansion in Florida,' the claim says.

The claims were unverified, and it is not known whether the FBI at the time followed up on the claims or launched an investigation. The claims made against Jay-Z also stopped short of accusing the rapper of wrongdoing, and thus, he was not charged. It should also be noted that the timeline was also vague, as in 1996, Jay-Z was still relatively unknown and had just released his debut album.