The lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jay-Z over the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl in 2000 has been dismissed by the attorney representing the Jane Doe, according to a court filing made on Friday in New York.
The voluntary dismissal, reviewed by Variety, was filed by attorneys Tony Buzbee and Antigone Curis, claiming that the Jane Doe who accused the musicians of sexual assault “hereby gives notice that the above-captioned Action is voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice.”
Additionally, Roc Nation, the entertainment company owned by Jay-Z, issued a statement from Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) calling this a “victory.” In his statement, Jay-Z also says this issue caused trauma for his wife, Beyoncé, and his children.
“The frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations have been dismissed,” Carter wrote. “This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere. The fictional tale they created was laughable, if not for the seriousness of the claims. I would not wish this experience on anyone.
The trauma that my wife, my children, loved ones and I have endured can never be dismissed. This 1-800 lawyer gets to file a suit hiding behind Jane Doe, and when they quickly realize that the money grab is going to fail, they get to walk away with no repercussions. The system has failed.
The court must protect victims, OF COURSE, while with the same ethical responsibility, the courts must protect the innocent from being accused without a shred of evidence. May the truth prevail for all victims and those falsely accused equally.”
A Jane Doe initially filed the suit against Combs in October, adding Jay-Z’s name to the suit two months later. She alleged that Combs and Carter raped her in 2000 after they had brought her to an MTV Music Video Awards afterparty.
Jay-Z was quick to blast the claims, stating that his lawyer was sent “blackmail” in an effort to pressure him into settling out of court. He said it had the “opposite effect” and instead enflamed him to expose his accuser for “the fraud [they] are in a VERY public fashion.”
What ensued was a blitz of court filings and a public back-and-forth between Jay-Z, Roc Nation and Buzbee.
In December, the Jane Doe gave an interview that damaged her credibility as she claimed that “not all the facts are clear” in her recollection of the night’s events and said that “I have made some mistakes. I may have made a mistake in identifying.” Later that month, a judge decided that she could proceed anonymously in the lawsuit against the rappers.
Last month, Jay-Z filed a motion to dismiss the ongoing lawsuit after securing permissions from United States District Judge Analisa Torres. The request claimed that there were a series of inconsistencies in the woman’s account.
While the case against Jay-Z has been dismissed, Combs faces dozens of lawsuits that have been filed over the past year.
He has been in prison at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York since Sept. 2024 on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. He has been denied bail three times and will remain incarcerated until his trial on May 5, 2025, when it could be determined that he could face life in prison.