A woman who accused rapper Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, of raping her when she was 13 has formally withdrawn the allegation, saying her claims against him were false.
The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit in 2024 alleging that Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs had drugged and raped her at a party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.
Both men denied the allegations, while the woman later withdrew the lawsuit in February 2025. Carter subsequently filed a lawsuit against her and her former lawyers.
In a declaration filed in the case on Thursday, the woman said she had never met or spoken with Carter and that he had never behaved inappropriately toward her.
“Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter never raped me. I have never met or spoken to Mr. Carter. Mr. Carter never engaged in any inappropriate conduct toward me whatsoever,” she wrote.
She also admitted that her earlier allegation that Carter and Combs raped her while another celebrity watched was false.
“My claims that Mr Carter and Mr Combs raped me while a third celebrity, watched are false. There is no truth to any of my claims against Mr Carter,” she said.
The woman acknowledged that her allegations had caused Carter significant distress and damage.
“I understand my false accusations have caused Mr Carter immense pain, suffering, and damage that can never be fully undone,” she added.
She further stated that she had not received money from Carter or anyone representing him and had not been paid to make the new declaration.
The woman has since been removed from Carter’s lawsuit, while his legal action against her former lawyers, including attorney Tony Buzbee, continues.
Buzbee told Rolling Stone that he had not seen the woman’s latest declaration. He said several lawyers had heard the same account from her before she became his client.
“If for some reason now she is claiming she lied to us and the court, that’s new information,” Buzbee said.
The woman also denied an earlier claim that Carter’s investigators had threatened or harassed her to make her withdraw the allegations.
“I never received any threat from Mr Carter or anyone acting on his behalf,” she said.
According to her declaration, she responded to a Facebook advertisement in September or October 2024 seeking people who might have sexual assault claims against Combs. She said the advert triggered memories of an alleged rape when she was 13, after which she was contacted by a law firm.
She claimed she was not shown the complaint containing the allegations and did not authorise it before it was filed in October 2024.
The woman also alleged that Buzbee and other lawyers representing her filed the lawsuit without conducting an independent investigation or obtaining corroborating evidence.
“The October Complaint alleges that Mr Carter and Mr Combs raped me when I was a minor while an unnamed celebrity watched. As discussed above, these allegations were false,” she said.
Combs had also denied the allegations, while his lawyer previously criticised the civil claims as lacking legal merit.
Buzbee represents several other people who have made allegations against Combs.
In July 2025, Combs was convicted on federal prostitution-related charges involving two former girlfriends and was sentenced to four years in prison.