Accuser Recants Allegation
A woman who had claimed that Jay-Z raped her at age 13 has now formally retracted that accusation, saying she has never encountered the rap star. Her allegation appeared in a 2024 lawsuit in which she said Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, drugged and raped her together with Sean Combs, also known as P Diddy. She said the episode took place at a party following an MTV awards show in 2000. Both men denied the claims; Jay-Z called them an extortion bid, and his attorney argued the alleged events depended on a timeline that could not have happened. The suit was dropped in 2025, after which Jay-Z brought a counterclaim.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5]
With that counterclaim moving forward, the woman has now declared that her accusations were untrue. According to a declaration Rolling Stone obtained, she stated that Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter never raped her, that she had never met or spoken with him, and that he never behaved inappropriately toward her in any way. She also said none of her claims against him held any truth, and that she recognized her false accusations inflicted enormous pain, suffering, and damage on him. She has since been removed from Jay-Z's counterclaim, though he continues to pursue her former attorneys, arguing they ought to have spotted the inconsistencies in her allegations.[S1][S3][S4][S5]
Legal Developments and Reactions
Regarding the woman's new statement, Tony Buzbee told Rolling Stone that if she is now claiming she lied, it is new information. The woman's current lawyer, James Blair Newman Jr., said their client maintains she was sexually assaulted but mistakenly identified Mr. Carter. The woman explained that memories of sexual assault were triggered by an advertisement seeking victims of Combs. Combs was investigated for multiple sexual assaults and, unrelated to this case, was found guilty on two counts of transportation for prostitution, receiving a four-year, two-month sentence in October 2025. The woman said she was unaware of the lawsuit being filed and, after expressing doubts, it was dropped.[S1]
Jay-Z has spoken about the allegations' impact on his life. When the case was dismissed, he emphasized the trauma endured by his family. In a GQ interview in March, he expressed intense anger and stated he refused to settle out of court, saying it is not in his nature and he would rather die.[S1]
