A high-profile sexual assault lawsuit against music moguls Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) has been formally dismissed, according to court documents filed Friday in New York.
The case, brought by an anonymous plaintiff known as Jane Doe, alleged the pair raped her in 2000 when she was 13 years old. The dismissal, marked “with prejudice,” bars the accuser from refiling the same claims.
Jane Doe’s attorney, Tony Buzbee—who represents dozens of plaintiffs in ongoing suits against Combs—voluntarily withdrew the case, though no reason was provided. The lawsuit, initially targeting Combs in October 2023, expanded in December to include Jay-Z, who was accused of participating in the alleged assault following an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty. Jay-Z vehemently denied the claims, calling them “frivolous, fictitious, and appalling” in a Roc Nation statement.
“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. He emphasized the personal toll on his family, stating, “The trauma that my wife, my children, my loved ones, and I have endured can never be dismissed.” His attorney, Alex Spiro, added that the case “never should have been brought,” praising Jay-Z for refusing to settle and “clearing his name.”
The dismissal followed months of scrutiny over Jane Doe’s credibility. In a December interview, she admitted uncertainties in her account, conceding, “I may have made a mistake in identifying.” U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres later approved Jay-Z’s motion to dismiss the case, citing inconsistencies in her allegations.
While Jay-Z exits the legal fray, Combs remains embroiled in over three dozen civil lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct, alongside federal criminal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. Since September 2024, Combs has been detained without bail at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, awaiting a trial set for May 5, 2025. His legal team dismissed Friday’s ruling as predictable, claiming, “This is just the first of many [cases] that will not hold up in a court of law.”
The case’s collapse highlights the fragile intersection of celebrity, justice, and public perception. For Jay-Z, the dismissal offers vindication; for Combs, it marks another chapter in a deepening crisis. As legal experts dissect the implications of “with prejudice” dismissals, the broader conversation about accountability and due process in high-stakes litigation continues to reverberate.
