News broke on Thursday evening (June 19) of a $20 million dollar lawsuit filed against New York rap legend Fat Joe by former hypeman, Terrance “T.A.” Dixon, accusing the rapper of “coercive labor exploitation, financial fraud, sexual manipulation, violent intimidation, and psychological coercion.”
Fat Joe would issues an immediate response to the lawsuit via his attorney, Joe Tacopina, on Thursday, denying the allegations. In statement to The Independent, addressing Dixon and his attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, Tacopina called the claims “complete fabrication.”
“The lawsuit filed by Tyrone Blackburn and Terrance Dixon is a blatant act of retaliation,” Tacopina said. “The allegations against Mr. Cartagena are complete fabrications — lies intended to damage his reputation and force a settlement through public pressure. Mr. Cartagena will not be intimidated. We have taken legal action to expose this fraudulent campaign and hold everyone involved accountable.”
The lawsuit against Fat Joe was filed in U.S. District Court Southern District of New York. The filing includes a 157-page document. Terrance “T.A.” Dixon was Fat Joe’s hypeman for allegedly 16 years.
Dixon’s lawsuit claims that Fat Joe forced him into humiliating situations under duress and surveillance, accompanied by threats of abandonment in foreign countries if [he] refused compliance.
In addition to Fat Joe, the lawsuit also named Pete “Pistol Pete” Torres, Richard “Rich Player” Jospitre, who were labeled as key associates the rapper’s “criminal enterprise,” and Roc Nation.
In response to the claims, Fat Joe’s Tacopina describes Dixon and Blackburn as, “a desperate attempt to deflect attention from the civil suit we filed first, which exposed their coordinated scheme to extort Mr. Cartagena through lies, threats, and manufactured allegations.”
Tacopina would speak to Tyrone Blackburn’s previous court filing, which include the lawsuit by producer Lil Rod against Sean “Diddy” Combs, in his statement to The Independent.
Tacopina added: “Tyrone Blackburn has a well-documented pattern of abusing the courts to harass defendants and generate media attention. Two separate federal judges have condemned his conduct — one for filing headline-chasing lawsuits full of salacious and baseless claims, and another for making repeated legal misstatements and personal attacks in court filings.”
More as this story develops.
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