Tyrone Blackburn says his well being has deteriorated as he accuses Fats Joe and lawyer Joe Tacopina of orchestrating a public smear marketing campaign and coordinating his arrest in an try and derail a $20 million lawsuit filed on behalf of a former Hip-Hop affiliate.
Blackburn, who represents Terrance “T.A.” Dixon in a federal case towards the Bronx rapper, claims the strain from Fats Joe’s authorized group has pushed him into “extreme medical misery” and compromised his capacity to characterize his shopper.
“These actions not solely prejudiced me within the eyes of the general public and my skilled friends but in addition inflicted substantial private and reputational hurt that I proceed to endure and are at present present process medical therapy for,” Blackburn stated in a court docket submitting.
The authorized battle started earlier this yr when Dixon sued Fats Joe, alleging many years of unpaid labor, sexual coercion, and psychological manipulation.
The lawsuit, filed in June 2025, accuses the rapper of forcing Dixon into hundreds of sexually express acts underneath menace of violence or abandonment, whereas additionally denying him correct credit score and compensation for his work as a lyricist and collaborator.
Fats Joe has denied all claims, calling them “disgusting lies,” and insists the lawsuit is an try and extort cash by means of fabricated allegations.
His authorized group, led by Tacopina, responded by submitting a countersuit in April 2025 accusing Dixon and Blackburn of defamation, extortion and intentional infliction of emotional misery.
Tacopina has been vocal in his criticism of Blackburn, calling the lawyer’s filings “bogus” and accusing him of utilizing AI-generated citations in court docket paperwork.
In protection filings, Tacopina described Dixon’s lawsuit as a “blatant act of retaliation” after Dixon was fired for misconduct.
However Blackburn says the authorized assaults have gone past the courtroom.
On Could 12, 2025, a 66-year-old course of server tried to ship court docket papers associated to Fats Joe’s lawsuit.
In response to police, Blackburn reversed his automobile and struck the person within the leg, inflicting minor accidents.
He was later arrested on June 25 and booked on a number of costs together with felony assault, harassment, reckless driving and legal possession of a weapon.
Blackburn insists the arrest was a setup.
“Protection counsel coordinated with native legislation enforcement to safe my arrest, asserting that I had ‘mowed down’ a course of server with my automobile,” Blackburn stated. “This occurred regardless of my prior provide to waive service of course of. This arrest, obtained by means of misrepresentation, has resulted in vital collateral penalties, together with the suspension of my New York State Bar identification card and a maintain on my pending open-carry license utility.”
The arrest has added one other layer of complexity to an already contentious authorized warfare.
Blackburn’s group argues that the smear marketing campaign is a deliberate effort to discredit him and distract from Dixon’s claims, which embody allegations of intercourse trafficking, tax fraud, and misconduct involving minors as younger as 15.
Dixon additionally accuses Roc Nation of serving to to hide and manipulate his authorship rights and royalties, claiming the label participated in efforts to intimidate him and impede his authorized efforts.
Fats Joe’s camp has denied all wrongdoing and maintains that Dixon’s allegations are false and designed to strain a settlement. Tacopina has threatened authorized motion towards Blackburn for what he calls “determined” ways.
The case is at present being litigated within the Southern District of New York, with hearings scheduled by means of the summer season and fall of 2025.
