Last year, a woman filed a civil suit against Sean Combs and Jay-Z, claiming that they both raped her in 2000, just hours after the MTV VMAs. Initially, the woman was just suing Combs, but then after a couple of months, she added Jay-Z’s name to the lawsuit and said that he assaulted her alongside Combs, and that a female celebrity was in the room too. Soon after, this woman gave an interview to NBC News and her story fell apart – there were glaring inconsistencies, a timeline which made zero sense, zero corroboration from anyone else (including her father, who does not remember driving from Rochester to NYC to pick up his daughter), false memories of speaking to various celebrities who were not even in New York at that time, and on and on. Throughout it all, Jay-Z’s lawyer Alex Spiro has been on the warpath. Well, now the case has been dismissed by Jane Doe’s lawyer.
The lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jay-Z over the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl in 2000 has been dismissed by the attorney representing the Jane Doe, according to a court filing made on Friday in New York.
The voluntary dismissal, reviewed by Variety, was filed by attorneys Tony Buzbee and Antigone Curis, claiming that the Jane Doe who accused the musicians of sexual assault “hereby gives notice that the above-captioned Action is voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice.” Because it was dismissed with prejudice, the suit cannot be refiled as it is in its present form.
Additionally, Roc Nation, the entertainment company owned by Jay-Z, issued a statement signed by Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) calling this a “victory.” In his statement, Jay-Z also says this issue caused trauma for his wife and children.
“The frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations have been dismissed,” he wrote. “This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere. The fictional tale they created was laughable, if not for the seriousness of the claims. I would not wish this experience on anyone. The trauma that my wife, my children, loved ones and I have endured can never be dismissed. This 1-800 lawyer gets to file a suit hiding behind Jane Doe, and when they quickly realize that the money grab is going to fail, they get to walk away with no repercussions. The system has failed. The court must protect victims, OF COURSE, while with the same ethical responsibility, the courts must protect the innocent from being accused without a shred of evidence. May the truth prevail for all victims and those falsely accused equally.”
Alex Spiro, Jay-Z’s attorney, also issued an individual statement: “The false case against Jay-Z, that never should have been brought, has been dismissed with prejudice. By standing up in the face of heinous and false allegations, Jay has done what few can – he pushed back, he never settled, he never paid 1 red penny, he triumphed and cleared his name.”
As soon as the NBC interview with Jane Doe came out, most people realized that there was zero evidence and that Doe’s lawyer had basically done nothing to vet or corroborate his client’s account. I had my doubts that this would ever make it to trial, and here we are. I also feel like Jay-Z deserves an apology – people were way too eager to denigrate him, his career and his family over Jane Doe’s accusations. Soon after the case dismissal, Jay-Z filed a lawsuit against Jane Doe’s lawyer, see below.
Now, I also think the timeline is suspicious as hell. There was a whole-ass salty-loser movement to discredit Jay-Z – and Roc Nation by association – ahead of this year’s Super Bowl, and this case was hyped and cited as Exhibit A for Why Jay-Z Shouldn’t Be In Charge of the Halftime Show. And now the case is dismissed five days after the Super Bowl? Almost as if the whole operation was organized around disrupting one particular thing.
Jay-Z’s lawsuit against Tony Buzbee over the now-dismissed rape lawsuit continues, and he recently filed a declaration describing his experience.
“I felt that Mr. Buzbee was placing a gun to my head that I either bow to his demands or endure personal and financial ruin.” pic.twitter.com/e82HdN6sok
— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) February 15, 2025
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.
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- Cannes, FRANCE – Jay-Z and P. Diddy are facing accusations of violence from a 13-year-old boy following an incident after the 2000 MTV Awards. **SHOT ON 05/23/2008** Pictured: Jay-Z, P. Diddy BACKGRID USA 9 DECEMBER 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Cannes, FRANCE – Jay-Z and P. Diddy are facing accusations of violence from a 13-year-old boy following an incident after the 2000 MTV Awards. **SHOT ON 05/23/2008** Pictured: Jay-Z, P. Diddy BACKGRID USA 9 DECEMBER 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles premiere of Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” at Dolby Theatre. Pictured: Jay-Z, Beyoncé BACKGRID USA 9 DECEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles premiere of Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” at Dolby Theatre. Pictured: Jay-Z, Beyoncé BACKGRID USA 9 DECEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles premiere of Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” at Dolby Theatre. Pictured: Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter BACKGRID USA 9 DECEMBER 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Celebrities attend Fanatics Fest 2024 in New York City Featuring: Jay-Z Where: New York, New York, United States When: 18 Aug 2024 Credit: Janet Mayer/INSTARimages.com
I always felt that this was Tony Buzbee going after the deepest pockets because let’s face it pretty much everyone has attended a white party at Diddy’s house who was / is famous in the last 25 years. Those invitations were coveted. He probably presumed that due to Jay Z and Beyonce’s status and wealth they would rather pay to make this go away then take the PR hit. Jay Z mentioned in his case that Buzbee also threatened him with a lawsuit for a male accused and we know how homophobia works in hip hop.
That being said my biggest issue throughout this entire Diddy saga is that too much of this felt like Glee and taking down celebrities that you didn’t like, rather than actually being concerned about people who experienced sexual violence. Whether that was regular people like the woman in this case, or people like usher or Justin Bieber. It doesn’t come across as if a lot of people are concerned about their actual well being, but that they want to take people down a notch because of para social relationships with other celebrities.
I really do hope that people who were harmed do get some measure or justice and relief because of course this will just reignite all the people are lying nonsense.
I agree Dee there’s too much pleasure/Schadenfreude in taking people down
I have seen multiple comments still believing this particular accusation, claiming that since the victim was drugged, the consistencies are expected. So, I hope, Jay Z sues the sh*t out of that lawyer. He did zero work to fact check the victim before publicly naming Jay Z for rape. He named him because Jay Z refused to settle and just before his daughter’s red carpet event, his name was unsealed from the lawsuit. That lawyer doesn’t give a sh*t about victims, he is a Trump guy. He probably believes, the famous people are gonna pay no matter the truth to protect their reputation. Jay Z is the last person who would pay someone to go away.
Do they think her dad was drugged also?
@somebody, they are saying, the dad was paid off by Jay Z 🫠 Jay Z who refused to pay off the victim to protect his reputation apparently paid off the dad to lie about his own daughter.
The whole story and timeline was so off. That lawyer is really what had me side eyeing this suit. That lawyer is shady as hell. But I do feel for the woman, she seems to have been used as a pawn for his obsession with Jay-Z.
You don’t say…
The question is do Diddy’s lawyers seize on this mess to try and discredit other victims who have filed lawsuits and then witnesses in the criminal case?
The fact that the lawyer was a shady Trump guy should have raised red flags immediately. He just so happens to file a poorly vetted lawsuit against the husband of one of VP Harris’ biggest supporters? 🤔
He was Close with Diddy for more than 3 Decades. They were seen together at so many occasions from the early 1990 years. Its not any wonder, that people would believe, that he is somehow also involved like many others, where we still have no names. We see really awful crimes committed by men every day. No, i really am Not surprised anymore. You are who you surround yourself. And nobody can convince me that Jay had absolutely no clue, what diddy was doing for 3 decades!
This is exactly my position as well.
I think it’s unfair to say someone is guilty only by association. It reminds me of serial killers whose friends and family had no idea. Even domestic abuse victims can go years without anyone suspecting.
Diddy was probably an industry secret just like Weinstein. He had a lot of power in the industry. I agree, Jay Z probably knew what was going on in those parties. However, Diddy wasn’t just partying while committing crimes, he was also recording other people in the party for blackmail material. Jay Z isn’t stupid, I doubt he would fall for that. I don’t believe Jay Z is a good man either. That Trump lawyer probably thought, even if this woman’s record wasn’t very convincing, other potential victims would come out after the first stone getting thrown. That didn’t happen. We can’t just assume someone is guilty even if there is no victim. That doesn’t sound right to me.
Jay Z and Diddy were never close, they were workplace colleagues at best. Jay got married, Diddy wasn’t invited. Jay has a song literally naming all his friends, Diddy wasn’t included. I don’t like defending men but come on, there’s no evidence and no other accounts of this behaviour from Jay.
I mean, I tend to agree to an extent but like it or not, you are innocent until proven guilty in the United States and there is no evidence of criminal behaviour when it comes to Jay Z (Puffy is a different matter).
Plus Jay Z is doing a lot for the culture. That’s not to excuse any criminal behaviour but I’ve heard him talk about dealing drugs in an emotionally mature way (not excusing it but also not glorifying it). He’s put Black artists on a big stage. He’s contributing and showing growth.
Whereas what did Diddy ever do for anyone? He made some music but who did he ever help? He was always so quiet, disappearing from the public view for lengthy periods – turns out the man was very focused on his parties and manipulating everyone around him. Psychopath vibes.
If you know anything about HiPHop would know Diddy and Jayz weren’t close for close to 30 years.
HipHop peace and commoradary is a resent development. So, this association was always exaggerated. It’s like claiming Dr Dre and Diddy were close.n
Too many people rushed to condemn Jay-Z because he was friends with Diddy. Even now, the argument is that Jay-Z should be punished for guilt by association. Once you double and triple down on taking the side of an accuser, even one as questionable as this woman, pride makes it impossible to see any other option. Linking the lawyer to Trump is the kind of deflection that serves no one.
This is true and the attitude is too prevalent. The Internet insists that MERYL STREEP KNEW about Harvey Weinstein, OPRAH KNEW.
And I just don’t buy that. I don’t buy that because you work with someone who behaves badly, you know what goes on behind closed doors. This argument in general lends itself way too easily to shifting the blame. Meryl isn’t responsible for Harvey’s actions…Harvey is. And so on.
I think “everyone” in the industry knew Weinstein was a lecher and a bully, but few knew he was a rapist. I think many people assumed it was more of a consensual, “casting couch” situation.
I thought Kay’s countersuit went in around the same time the Jane Doe suit went public? It said it continues…
I said this when the first piece about the TV interview went up here: the hardest part for me to reconcile was her father not remembering getting a call in the middle of the night from his 13 you daughter finding out she was so excited many hrs away and lost in NYC. Especially cuz I remember how out of towners viewed is back that. We are the big bad city. The experience should have been so scary for him as a parent that it left an impression. Unless of course, he was abusive himself.
My basis was the Judge said there was enough evidence for the case to move forward. And it’s not like Jay-Z has some stellar reputation and rumors about Rhianna being his mistress when she was a teenager. And he started dating Beyonce when she was 19 and he was 31. On top of Beyonce making a whole album about being cheated on by Jay Z.
While a pattern of behavior isn’t great with smoke. There was no fire here in this case. I still believe in victims, and they need their voices heard. I hope whatever issues this woman has. She gets the help she needs to heal. And Jay Z and his team go after that lawyer for exploiting that woman for financial gain.
I remember reading from Rihanna’s former publicist that he made up the rumor that she was having an affair with Jay Z in order to increase her name. I don’t think Rihanna was in on it, because she said she was so uncomfortable with those rumors that she didn’t know what to do when she saw Jay Z and Beyonce on the red carpet. Jay Z was definitely cheating on Beyonce shamelessly, but I don’t think he went after Rihanna.
Thanks for the clarification @sevenblue I know she was 16 when she first met Jay Z to be signed to his label. And it’s a shame if a publicist thinks they need to stoop so low to create buzz over an atist. When their talent has kept them A list since day one.
@Flamingo, and the rumor coming directly from her publicist, it makes sense why it was publicized so strongly. Probably everyone believed it, hearing from “the reliable source”. Rihanna is so talented, she didn’t need such controversy to get attention. I felt really bad for her. I get why she doesn’t care much about the music industry now.
I have no idea the details of the case, but I do want to point out the statement ‘there was not evidence.’ Sadly there rarely is. That doesn’t mean victims should immediately be dismissed as being fraudulent.