A woman who previously accused US rapper Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 has officially retracted her allegations, stating there is “no truth” to her claims.
Identified in court as Jane Doe, the woman had filed a lawsuit in 2024 alleging that Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) and Sean “Diddy” Combs drugged and raped her at a party after the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Both men denied the accusations.
In a 12-page declaration submitted to a Manhattan federal court on Thursday, Doe clarified that she had never met or spoken with Carter, nor had he ever acted inappropriately toward her. “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.
Doe further admitted that her claims involving both Carter and Combs, as well as allegations that a third celebrity witnessed the assault, were false. “There is no truth to any of my claims against Mr. Carter.”
She acknowledged the harm her false accusations caused, writing, “I understand my false accusations have caused Mr. Carter immense pain, suffering, and damage that can never be fully undone.” Doe also stated she had not received and had not been promised any money from Carter or anyone acting on his behalf in exchange for her declaration.
The original lawsuit was filed against Combs in October 2024, with Carter added in an amended complaint that December. Doe voluntarily withdrew the case in February 2025.
Following the withdrawal, Carter sued Doe and her former attorneys, including lawyer Tony Buzbee, for malicious prosecution, defamation, and other claims. Carter had previously described the allegations as “frivolous, fictitious, and appalling,” stating they were an attempt to blackmail him. With Doe’s latest declaration, she has been dismissed from Carter’s lawsuit, though his legal action against her former lawyers continues. Buzbee has denied any wrongdoing and maintains his firm acted in good faith based on Doe’s allegations. Earlier this month, a California appeals court rejected Carter’s effort to revive separate claims against Buzbee.
Carter, who is married to Beyoncé, previously spoke about the impact of the allegations on his family, saying after Doe withdrew the lawsuit, “The trauma that my wife, my children, loved ones and I have endured can never be dismissed.”
