A woman who accused American rapper Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 has formally withdrawn the allegation, stating in a new court declaration that her claims against the music star were false.
The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, had sued Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, and Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2024. Her complaint alleged that she was drugged and sexually assaulted at a party after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000. Carter was named as the previously unidentified celebrity in an amended complaint filed later that year.
Both men denied the allegations. Jane Doe dismissed her lawsuit in February 2025. In a new declaration filed on Thursday in a related federal case, she said Carter never raped her and that she had never met or spoken with him.
“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 in the declaration.
She also said there was no truth to her claims against Carter and acknowledged that the accusations had caused him and his family significant harm.
Jane Doe Says She Did Not Authorise Allegations Against Jay-Z
Jane Doe said she responded to a Facebook advertisement in September or October 2024 seeking people who might have sexual-assault claims involving Combs. According to her new declaration, the advertisement prompted memories of an alleged assault from when she was 13, after which she was contacted by a law firm.
She alleged that the lawyers did not give her a draft of the complaint before filing it and that she had not authorised the claims made against Carter. She further alleged that the lawyers filed the case without conducting independent investigations or obtaining corroborating evidence.
Her new lawyer, James Blair Newman Jr., said she still maintains that she was a victim of sexual assault but was mistaken in identifying Carter. Jane Doe also said she had not received money from Carter or anyone acting on his behalf in connection with the new declaration.
Jay-Z Continues Legal Case Against Former Lawyers
The declaration was filed alongside a notice that Carter was voluntarily dismissing Jane Doe as a defendant in his ongoing malicious-prosecution lawsuit against attorney Tony Buzbee and his law firm.
Buzbee told Rolling Stone that he had not seen the new declaration. He said that several lawyers had dealt with Jane Doe before she met him and that she had given them the same account. He has previously disputed the allegations against him and said that sending a demand letter before filing a lawsuit does not constitute extortion.
Jay-Z had strongly denied the original accusation. After Jane Doe dismissed her lawsuit in 2025, he said the experience had caused trauma to his wife, children and other loved ones.
Sean Combs Case Remains Separate
Jane Doe’s new declaration specifically recants her allegation against Carter. Her lawyer said she continues to regard herself as a victim of sexual assault, while the original complaint also accused Combs.
In a separate criminal case, Combs was convicted in July 2025 on two counts of transporting people for prostitution. He was sentenced to four years and two months in prison in October 2025. Those criminal proceedings are separate from Jane Doe’s civil claims.
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