Jay-Z Faces New Legal Battle Over Paternity of "Illegitimate Son" amid Sexual Assault Allegations
Jay-Z, 55, is facing renewed calls to confirm the paternity of his "illegitimate son" Rymir Satterthwaite, 31, following a decade-long legal battle. The rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has been accused of sexual assault, including allegations of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000.
Satterthwaite claims that Carter’s legal team acted fraudulently during previous attempts to get him to take a paternity test. He is now suing multiple New Jersey courts, judges, and officials, including the New Jersey Supreme Court, alleging violations of their constitutional rights.
The lawsuit, filed on November 25, argues that Satterthwaite and his late mother, Wanda, had sex in 1992, when Wanda was 16 years old and Carter was 22. Satterthwaite was born in 1993.
The case began in 2012, when Wanda requested that a Pennsylvania court make both men take a paternity test to determine Satterthwaite’s father. The court ruled that the case should be tried under New Jersey law, which states that the age of "parentage" is 23.
Carter’s legal team then argued that the rapper should be exempt from undergoing a DNA test in New Jersey because he did not live or own property in the state. However, it was later revealed that Carter did own property in New Jersey, which was a key factor in the court’s decision.
Satterthwaite claims that Carter’s attorney’s have fought to block him from having to take a paternity test because Wanda was underage at the time of her pregnancy. The case is now before the New Jersey Supreme Court, and Satterthwaite is seeking a declaratory judgment to recognize that his constitutional rights were violated and to unseal the court records for public review.
In a recent statement, Satterthwaite slammed Carter’s response to the allegations, saying that if he "values the ideals of honor and protecting children" then he should stop refusing to acknowledge his paternity. He has also called for Carter to step forward with transparency and address the allegations of sexual assault against him.