A woman who accused Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 has formally recanted her allegations. The unnamed woman, known as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit in 2024 claiming she was drugged and raped by Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs at a party after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000. However, in a statement filed in a separate lawsuit, she now says she has never met Jay-Z and that her allegations were entirely false.
The woman's allegations were previously denied by Jay-Z and Combs. When the accuser dropped her case in February 2025, Jay-Z described the allegations as a "blackmail attempt" and said his family and he had endured "immense pain, suffering, and damage". The woman, from Alabama, has now been removed from Jay-Z's lawsuit against her and her lawyers. She claims she did not receive any money from Jay-Z or his representatives to make her new statement.
The woman's lawyers, led by Tony Buzbee, had previously claimed that Jay-Z's investigators had harassed and intimidated their client. However, in her new statement, the woman says she never received any threats from Jay-Z or his representatives. Buzbee has since stated that he was not aware of the woman's new declaration and that she had previously given the same account of events to multiple lawyers.
According to the woman, her allegations originated from a Facebook ad in September or October 2024 seeking people with potential sexual assault claims against Combs. The ad triggered memories of being raped when she was 13, but she did not authorize a lawsuit containing her allegations before it was filed in October 2024. She also claims her lawyers filed the lawsuit without conducting due diligence or obtaining corroboration.
The woman's new statement is a significant development in the case, as Jay-Z had previously sued her and her lawyers for making false allegations. Jay-Z is still suing Buzbee and other lawyers representing the woman. Combs, who was convicted of prostitution-related charges in July 2025 and is serving a four-year prison sentence, had also denied the woman's claims.
Buzbee represents multiple people who have made allegations against Combs. His client claims that Combs' lawyer previously described her allegations as one of several civil cases "pushed forward by an attorney more focused on media headlines than legal merit". The BBC has attempted to contact Buzbee for comment.
The case has seen multiple developments over the past year, with the woman dropping her lawsuit against Jay-Z and Combs in February 2025. Jay-Z's lawsuit against her and her lawyers will continue, with the woman now removed as a defendant.
Key points
- The accuser has formally recanted her allegations against Jay-Z.
- The woman claims she never met Jay-Z and that her allegations were false.
- Jay-Z is still suing the woman's former lawyers.
