Jay-Z‘s sexual assault accuser officially recanted her claim in a federal court in New York on Thursday, September 24. Subsequently, the music mogul voluntarily dropped the accuser, who is only known publicly as Jane Doe, from the malicious-prosecution lawsuit filed against her former attorney, Tony Buzbee.
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Jay-Z Accuser Recants Sexual Assault Claim
The woman who accused Jay-Z of sexual assault officially recanted her claim in a federal court on Thursday, September 24, in New York City, according to the Rolling Stone. Subsequently, Jay-Z voluntarily dropped the accuser from the malicious-prosecution lawsuit he filed against her former attorney, Texas-based lawyer Tony Buzbee.
“Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter never raped me,” wrote Jane Doe. “I have never met or spoken to Mr. Carter. Mr. Carter never engaged in any inappropriate conduct toward me whatsoever.”
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Furthermore, she wrote that there was “no truth” to her previous accusations against Jay-Z.
“There is no truth to any of my claims against Mr. Carter,” she added. “I understand my false accusations have caused Mr. Carter immense pain, suffering, and damage that can never be fully undone.”
In addition to the statement from Jane Doe, her new malicious prosecution case-attorney, James Blair Newman, Jr., issued a statement.
“Our client maintains that she was a victim of sexual assault,” wrote Newman. “But she was entirely mistaken in her allegations identifying Mr. Carter, and those allegations were false. Mr. Carter did not rape her, sexually assault her, engage in any inappropriate conduct towards her, and she has never met him. She sincerely and unconditionally apologizes to Mr. Carter and his family.”
In addition, Jane Doe claimed that she was not promised and hasn’t received compensation for recanting the claim. Buzbee, in response, claims that his firm investigated her allegations and that she knew of the legal filings.
“We have multiple lawyers (at least four) who dealt with Ms. Doe long before she met me. She gave the exact same story to each. If for some reason now she is claiming she lied to us and the court, that’s new information,” he wrote.
What Were The Accusations?
The Shade Room previously reported that Jane Doe accused Jay-Z and Diddy of taking turns raping her at a party back in 2000 when she was 13. She claimed it happened following the MTV Video Music Awards in New York City. Jane Doe claims that afterward, she walked to a gas station and called her father, who picked her up.
The lawsuit was originally filed against Diddy and an unnamed celebrity back in 2024. However, the woman later named Jay-Z. She also later admitted to inconsistencies in her story during an interview with NBC News.
“Jay-Z comes over, holds me down,” she said, per NBC News. “I start trying to push away. He puts his hand over my mouth, tells me to stop it, to cut the sh*t, and then he rapes me, like, he had me overpowered.”
“I was upset, and the person at the gas station could tell that I was obviously upset, and she let me use the phone,” she continued. “I called my dad because he was the only person I trust at that time. I told him I messed up and I needed a ride home. We rode home in silence. He didn’t ask me what happened. He didn’t ask me what I did or where I was.“
However, her father said couldn’t remember picking her up at a gas station. In addition, he added that he had a lot going on. Jane Doe maintained that she was assaulted but that she made mistakes.
“Honestly, what is the clearest is what happened to me and [the] route that I took to what happened to me,” she added. “Not all of the faces there are as clear, so I have made some mistakes. I may have made a mistake in identifying.”
Jay-Z Denied The Allegations And Filed Malicious-Prosecution Lawsuit
Jay-Z vehemently denied the accusations in a fiery statement shared on Instagram. Not only that, but he called the accusation a “blackmail attempt” and filed a malicious-prosecution lawsuit against Buzbee and the accuser.
“My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a ‘lawyer’ named Tony Buzbee,” he wrote in part. “What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle. No sir, it had the opposite effect! It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion. So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!! These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one!! Whomever would commit such a crime against a minor should be locked away, would you not agree? These alleged victims would deserve real justice if that were the case.”
He added that Buzbee had a “pattern of these type of theatrics” and called him “a deplorable human.” The ‘Song Cry’ artist went on to note that the allegations caused “heartbreak” for his family.
“My only heartbreak is for my family,” he continued. “My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people. I mourn yet another loss of innocence. Children should not have to endure such at their young age. It is unfair to have to try to understand inexplicable degrees of malice meant to destroy families and human spirit.”
Jay-Z added that Buzbee was an “ambulance chaser in a cheap suit” with “idiotic claims” as he noted his heart went out to “true victims.”
“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,” wrote Carter in the complaint. “His actions caused me mental anguish about the ticking time bomb and what it would do to me, my family, and my hard-earned reputation.”
Jay-Z also told NBC News at the time that the “incident didn’t happen.”
“This incident didn’t happen,” he said. “True Justice is coming. We fight FROM victory, not FOR victory. This was over before it began. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but, soon.”
