Woman clears Jay-Z of rape allegation

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A woman who accused rapper Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, of raping her when she was 13 has formally withdrawn the allegation, saying her claims against him were false.

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The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit in 2024 alleging that she had been drugged and raped by Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs at a party following the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000.

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Both men denied the allegations, while the woman later dropped the lawsuit in February 2025. Carter subsequently filed a lawsuit against her and her former lawyers.

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As reported by BBC in a declaration filed in the case on Thursday, the woman said she had never met or spoken with Carter and that he had never engaged in inappropriate conduct toward her.

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“Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter never raped me. I have never met or spoken to Mr. Carter. Mr. Carter never engaged in any inappropriate conduct toward me whatsoever,” she wrote.

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She also said her previous claim that Carter and Combs raped her while another celebrity watched was false.

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“My claims that Mr Carter and Mr Combs raped me while a third celebrity, watched are false. There is no truth to any of my claims against Mr Carter,” she said.

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The woman said she understood that her accusations had caused Carter significant pain and damage.

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“I understand my false accusations have caused Mr Carter immense pain, suffering, and damage that can never be fully undone,” she added.

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She said she had not received money from Carter or anyone acting on his behalf and had not been paid to make the latest declaration.

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The woman has since been removed from Carter’s lawsuit, while the rapper is continuing his legal action against her former lawyers, including attorney Tony Buzbee.

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Buzbee told Rolling Stone that he had not seen the woman’s new declaration. He said several lawyers had heard the same account from her before she became his client.

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“If for some reason now she is claiming she lied to us and the court, that’s new information,” Buzbee said.

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The woman also rejected an earlier claim that Carter’s investigators had threatened or harassed her in an effort to make her withdraw her allegations.

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“I never received any threat from Mr Carter or anyone acting on his behalf,” she said.

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In her declaration, the woman said she responded to a Facebook advertisement in September or October 2024 seeking people who might have sexual assault claims against Combs.

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She said the advertisement triggered memories of an alleged rape when she was 13 and that she was subsequently contacted by a law firm.

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However, she claimed she was not shown a draft of the lawsuit containing the allegations and did not authorise it before it was filed in October 2024.

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She further alleged that Buzbee and other lawyers representing her filed the lawsuit without conducting an independent investigation or obtaining corroborating evidence.

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“The October Complaint alleges that Mr Carter and Mr Combs raped me when I was a minor while an unnamed celebrity watched. As discussed above, these allegations were false,” she said.

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Combs had also denied the allegations, with his lawyer previously describing the civil claims as cases being pursued for media attention rather than legal merit.

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Buzbee represents several other people who have made allegations against Combs.

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In July 2025, Combs was convicted on federal prostitution-related charges involving two former girlfriends and was sentenced to four years in prison.

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