A woman who accused American rapper Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 has withdrawn the allegation in a sworn declaration filed in a New York federal court.
The woman, identified in legal documents as Jane Doe, said she had never met or spoken to the musician, whose legal name is Shawn Carter.
“Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter never raped me,” she stated in the declaration. “There is no truth to any of my claims against Mr Carter.”
The document was filed on Thursday, 24 September, as part of an ongoing legal dispute involving Jay-Z, the woman and her former lawyers.
Original lawsuit dismissed in 2025
The woman filed a civil lawsuit in 2024 alleging that Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulted her after the MTV Video Music Awards in New York in 2000.
She claimed that she was 13 at the time of the alleged incident. Both men denied the allegations.
The lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice in February 2025, meaning the same claim could not be filed again.
Jay-Z later brought a separate case against the woman and her former lawyer, Tony Buzbee, accusing them of malicious prosecution, defamation and conspiring to pressure him into paying a settlement.
Those claims were contested by Buzbee, who denied wrongdoing and previously accused Jay-Z’s representatives of attempting to intimidate the woman.
Woman apologises for allegation
In her latest declaration, the woman said her accusation had caused Jay-Z, his family and his reputation serious harm. She offered an unconditional apology and maintained that she was not paid to withdraw the allegation.
Her current lawyer said she still maintains that she experienced sexual assault but accepts that she wrongly identified Jay-Z and that the allegations made against him were false.
According to CBS News, the woman said she responded to a Facebook advertisement seeking people with possible sexual-assault claims against Combs. She was subsequently connected with Buzbee’s law firm.
She claimed the original lawsuit was filed without her knowledge and that she later began to question whether she had attended a party involving celebrities.
These statements are contained in her declaration. They have not, by themselves, resulted in a court finding against her former lawyers.
Jay-Z drops claims against the woman
Following the filing, Jay-Z’s legal team voluntarily removed the woman as a defendant in his lawsuit.
However, his malicious-prosecution case against Buzbee and the lawyer’s firm remains active. Dropping the woman from the case does not end the wider legal dispute.
Sky News reported that Jay-Z’s lawyers filed the declaration alongside documents removing her from the proceedings.
Jay-Z has maintained from the beginning that the accusation was false. He previously described the original lawsuit as an attempt to damage his reputation and pressure him into paying money.
The rapper said the allegation caused emotional harm to his family and affected his professional relationships.
No judgment on the original allegation
The woman’s declaration is a formal withdrawal of her accusation against Jay-Z, but it is not a judgment reached after a trial.
The original civil case ended before the allegation was tested in court, and no court found Jay-Z liable for sexual assault.
The latest filing strengthens his long-standing denial while leaving the separate dispute involving the woman’s former lawyers unresolved.
