Woman Recants Rape Allegation Against Jay-Z

A woman who accused rapper Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, of raping her when she was 13 has formally withdrawn the allegation, saying she never met or spoke with him and that her previous claims were false.

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

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

In a declaration filed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, the woman stated that Carter had never raped her and that he had never engaged in inappropriate conduct towards her.

She also said her previous claim that Carter and Combs had raped her while another celebrity watched was false, adding that there was no truth to her allegations against Carter.

The woman said she understood that the accusations had caused Carter significant pain, suffering and damage. She also stated that she had not received money from Carter or anyone acting on his behalf in connection with the declaration.

She further rejected an earlier claim that Carter's investigators had threatened or harassed her to make her withdraw the allegations, saying she had never received any such threat.

According to her declaration, she responded to a Facebook advertisement in September or October 2024 seeking people who might have sexual assault claims against Combs. She said the advertisement triggered memories of an alleged assault when she was 13 and that she was later contacted by a law firm.

She alleged that she was not shown or did not authorise the complaint containing the allegations before it was filed, and accused the lawyers representing her of filing the case without conducting an independent investigation or obtaining corroborating evidence.

Carter's legal action against the woman's former lawyers, including attorney Tony Buzbee, is continuing. Buzbee disputed the woman's account, saying several lawyers had heard the same allegations from her before he became involved in the case.