A woman who accused rapper Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 has formally withdrawn the allegation, saying her claims against him were false.
The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit in 2024 accusing Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her at a party following the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000. She alleged that she had been drugged before the incident.
Both Carter and Combs denied the allegations. The woman dropped the lawsuit in February 2025, after which Carter filed a separate lawsuit against her and her former lawyers.
In a declaration filed on Thursday, the woman said she had never met or spoken to Carter and denied that he had engaged in any inappropriate conduct towards 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 said.
She also said she had not received money from Carter or anyone acting on his behalf in exchange for the declaration.
The woman said her original allegations were prompted after she saw a Facebook advertisement in September or October 2024 seeking people who may have sexual assault claims against Combs. She said the advertisement triggered memories of being raped when she was 13.
She claimed the law firm representing her filed the lawsuit without showing her the final draft or obtaining her authorisation. She also accused the lawyers of failing to conduct an independent investigation or obtain corroborating evidence before filing the case.
Carter had previously described the allegations as false and said the case had caused significant distress to his family. After the woman dropped her lawsuit in February 2025, he said the impact on his wife, children and other loved ones could not be dismissed.
The woman has now been removed from Carter’s lawsuit, while the rapper's legal action against her former lawyers, including attorney Tony Buzbee, remains ongoing.
Buzbee said he had not seen the woman's latest declaration and maintained that she had previously given the same account to several lawyers.
Combs has also denied the allegations made against him.