Woman withdraws rape allegation against Jay-Z in sworn declaration

The woman who accused Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter of raping her when she was 13 has said in a sworn declaration that the allegation was false.

In an 11-page statement, she said Carter never assaulted her and that she had never met or spoken to him. The declaration was filed in Manhattan, as reported by Rolling Stone on 25 September 2026.

The woman, identified in court papers only as Jane Doe, also stated that she was not paid to make the declaration. She characterised her earlier account as untrue. A sworn declaration is a written statement made under penalty of perjury.

The case began in late 2024, when Doe sued Sean “Diddy” Combs over an alleged rape at an afterparty for the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, according to Pitchfork. She later refiled the suit that year, naming Carter as an alleged co-assailant. Both men denied the claims.

The amended federal suit alleged that Carter raped the 13-year-old girl along with Combs, as reported by Reuters in December 2024. Carter’s lawyer in the dispute was Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Doe voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice in February 2025. That form of dismissal finalised the case, meaning it cannot be brought again.

Doe had previously told two private investigators that her lawyer, Tony Buzbee, pushed her to make false claims against Carter to strengthen her case against Combs. That account was described in the recent coverage of the declaration. Buzbee has not been found by a court to have done so.

Carter had brought a claim against Doe as well as against Buzbee and his law firm. He has now dropped Doe as a defendant. His action against Buzbee and the firm continues.