A lawsuit accusing hip-hop moguls Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs of sexual assault has been voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff, court records confirm. The anonymous accuser, known as Jane Doe, withdrew the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled in its current form.
Attorney Tony Buzbee, who represents multiple plaintiffs in legal actions against Combs, filed the notice of dismissal on behalf of Jane Doe. The filing states that the lawsuit is being dismissed voluntarily and permanently, preventing further legal action based on the same claims.
Following the decision, Jay-Z—whose real name is Shawn Carter—released a statement through his entertainment company, Roc Nation, calling the dismissal a "victory."
"The baseless, outrageous, and appalling allegations have been dismissed," Jay-Z said. "This lawsuit lacked merit from the start. The false story that was fabricated would have been laughable if the claims weren’t so serious."
He also acknowledged the emotional toll the case took on his family. "The pain and distress this has caused my wife, my children, and my loved ones cannot simply be erased," he continued. "The courts must ensure that individuals are not wrongly accused without credible evidence. Justice must be fair to both victims and those falsely accused."
Jay-Z’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, also commented on the dismissal, asserting that the lawsuit "never should have been filed in the first place."
"Jay-Z refused to back down in the face of false and defamatory allegations. He never settled, never paid a cent, and now his name is cleared," Spiro stated.
The lawsuit was initially filed against Sean Combs in October before Jane Doe amended her complaint in December to include Jay-Z. She alleged that both men assaulted her in 2000 following an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty.
Jay-Z has strongly denied the accusations and claimed that his legal team had received what he described as an attempted blackmail demand in an effort to secure a settlement. Rather than complying, he chose to fight the allegations publicly.
In December, Jane Doe gave a media interview that cast doubt on her claims. During the conversation, she admitted that "not all the facts are clear" and acknowledged, "I may have made a mistake in identifying."
These inconsistencies prompted Jay-Z’s legal team to file a formal request to dismiss the lawsuit. United States District Judge Analisa Torres approved the request, officially ending the case.
While Jay-Z is no longer facing legal action in this case, Sean Combs continues to battle multiple lawsuits. The dismissal of Jane Doe’s lawsuit marks just one of over three dozen civil cases against him.
Following the court's decision, Combs’ legal team issued a statement declaring his innocence and predicting that other cases against him would also collapse.
"For months, we've seen anonymous claims pushed forward by an attorney more interested in media attention than justice. Just like this lawsuit, others will crumble because they lack truth," the statement read.
Combs is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, on federal charges related to racketeering and sex trafficking. He has been denied bail three times and is scheduled to stand trial on May 5, 2025.
