Warning: This article contains discussion of rape which some readers may find distressing.
All allegations made against Jay-Z by a woman who claimed she was raped by the rapper when she was just 13 years old have been dropped.
Plaintiff Jane Doe alleged that the 24-time Grammy-winner carried out the heinous act on her at an afterparty for the MTV Video Music Awards back in 2000, and claimed Diddy, whose real name is Sean Combs, also drugged and raped her.
However, since filing the lawsuit in October, initially just against Combs before adding Jay-Z’s name in December, she gave an interview that raised some questions over her credibility.
Doe conceded that ‘not all the facts are clear’ of her recollection of the night in question – where she even suggested a female celebrity watched the ordeal happen, before adding: “I have made some mistakes. I may have made a mistake in identifying.”
The 55-year-old, whose wife Beyoncé won a record 35th Grammy earlier this month, issued the following statement through his record label, Roc Nation.
“Today is a victory. The frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations have been dismissed. 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,” Jay-Z wrote.
“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.
Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and their daughter Blue Ivy Carter attend the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards earlier this month (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
“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.”
He added: “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.”
While the allegations against Jay-Z have been dropped, Combs remains in jail as he awaits trial – due to take place on May 5.
It comes after he was indicted by a grand jury following his arrest at the Park Hyatt hotel in Manhattan back in September.
Combs has since been charged with racketeering and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, charges he’s continued to deny. A 14-page federal indictment accuses the rapper of organizing events known as ‘freak offs’.
Jay-Z took the lawsuit public after he claimed he was being ‘blackmailed’ in an attempt to force a settlement (Roc Nation/X)
The indictment accuses Combs and others in his enterprise of ‘wield[ing] the power and prestige of Combs’ role at the Combs Business to intimidate, threaten and lure female victims into Combs’ orbit, often under the pretence of a romantic relationship’.
With the ‘assistance of members and associates’, the document claims Combs ‘transported commercial sex workers across state lines and internationally’ and ‘then used force, threats of force, and coercion, to cause victims to engage in extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers that Combs referred to as, among other things, ‘freak offs’.’
