A woman who accused American rapper Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter of raping her when she was 13 has withdrawn the allegation, saying her claims against the music star were false.
The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, made the disclosure in a declaration filed on Thursday in connection with a legal action involving Carter and her former lawyers.
She had sued Carter and Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2024, alleging that the two men raped her at a party following the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000.
Both Carter and Combs denied the allegations. The woman subsequently abandoned the lawsuit in February 2025, after which Carter initiated legal proceedings against her and her former legal representatives.
According to the BBC, the woman stated in the latest declaration that she had never met or spoken to Carter and that he had never behaved inappropriately towards 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 said.
She also withdrew her previous allegation that Carter and Combs had raped her while another celebrity watched.
“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 the impact of the allegations on Carter, saying she understood that the accusations had caused him 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 said.
She also denied receiving any financial payment from Carter or anyone acting on his behalf in return for the new declaration.
The woman has now been removed from Carter’s lawsuit, although the rapper is continuing his legal action against her former lawyers, including attorney Tony Buzbee.
Buzbee, who told Rolling Stone that he had not seen the woman's latest declaration, said several lawyers had previously 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 further rejected an earlier allegation that investigators working for Carter had threatened or harassed her to force her to withdraw her claims.
“I never received any threat from Mr Carter or anyone acting on his behalf,” she said.
In the declaration, she said she responded to a Facebook advertisement in September or October 2024 seeking people who believed they had sexual assault claims against Combs.
She said the advertisement brought back memories of an alleged assault when she was 13 and that she was subsequently contacted by a law firm.
However, she alleged that she was not shown the draft of the lawsuit before it was filed and did not authorise the allegations contained in the October 2024 complaint.
She also accused Buzbee and other lawyers who represented her of filing the case without carrying out 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, who was also named in the lawsuit, had denied the allegations. His lawyer had previously argued that civil claims against the rapper were being pursued for publicity rather than based on legal merit.
Buzbee represents several other people who have brought allegations against Combs.
In July 2025, Combs was convicted in a federal case on prostitution-related charges involving two former girlfriends and was subsequently sentenced to four years in prison.
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