A woman who accused Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 has formally recanted her allegations, saying they were entirely false. The woman, known as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit in 2024 claiming Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs raped her at a party after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000. However, in a statement filed in a separate lawsuit, Jane Doe admitted that her claims were untrue and that she had never met or spoken to Jay-Z.
According to Jane Doe's statement, she saw a Facebook ad in September or October 2024 looking for people with potential sexual assault claims against Combs. The ad triggered memories of being raped when she was 13, but she did not conduct any independent investigation or provide a draft of the lawsuit to her lawyers before it was filed. Jane Doe claims that her lawyers filed the lawsuit without her authorization and without corroborating evidence.
Jay-Z had vehemently denied the allegations, calling them a "blackmail attempt" and describing them as "frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations". When Jane Doe dropped her case in February 2025, Jay-Z stated that the trauma his family and he endured could never be dismissed. As a result of Jane Doe's recantation, she has been removed from Jay-Z's lawsuit against her and her lawyers.
The woman's former lawyers, led by Tony Buzbee, are still facing a lawsuit from Jay-Z. Buzbee claimed that Jay-Z's investigators had harassed and threatened Jane Doe, but she denied this in her statement. Buzbee has not seen Jane Doe's new declaration, but he stated that she had given the same story to multiple lawyers.
Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was also accused by Jane Doe, has denied her claims. Combs was convicted by a criminal court on prostitution-related charges involving his two ex-girlfriends in July 2025 and is currently serving a four-year prison sentence. Combs' lawyer described Jane Doe's claims as one of several civil cases "pushed forward by an attorney more focused on media headlines than legal merit".
Jay-Z is still suing Jane Doe's former lawyers, including Buzbee, for allegedly making false allegations. The lawsuit against Buzbee and other lawyers will likely continue. Jane Doe stated that she had not received any money from Jay-Z or anyone acting on his behalf and had not been paid to make her latest declaration.
The recantation by Jane Doe brings an end to a long-standing and highly publicized case against Jay-Z. Key points from the case include:
Key points
- Jay-Z's accuser recanted her allegations of rape.
- The accuser claimed her lawyers filed the lawsuit without her authorization or evidence.
- Jay-Z is still suing the accuser's former lawyers for allegedly making false allegations.
