Jay-Z accuser recants rape allegation against the rapper

FILE PHOTO: Jay-Z poses during the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute with this year's theme 'Costume Art' in New York City, New York, U.S., May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Daniel Cole/ File Photo

LOS ANGELES, Sept 25 - A woman who accused musician Jay-Z of rape in a 2024 lawsuit has recanted her claim and said she never met the billionaire rapper.

The woman, who was identified as Jane Doe in court papers, had accused Jay-Z and musician Sean "Diddy" Combs of raping her in 2000, when she was 13 years old. She later dropped that civil lawsuit, and Jay-Z sued her and her law firm for defamation and malicious prosecution.

A declaration from the woman was filed on Thursday as part of the defamation suit. In it, the woman said there was "no truth to any of my claims" against Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, and that she was not being paid for her statements.

"Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter never raped me. I have never met or spoken to Mr. Carter. Mr. Carter never engaged in any inappropriate conduct toward me whatsoever," the woman wrote in statements filed in US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

In court papers, Jay-Z's lawyers said they were dropping the woman as a defendant in the defamation case. Representatives for Jay-Z had no comment.

She also said Combs did not rape her. Her original claim was unrelated to the case that led to Combs' 2025 conviction and 50-month prison sentence on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Attorneys for Combs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The woman said her lawyers at the time filed the case “without conducting any independent investigation, background inquiry, or due diligence, and without obtaining any corroboration of the allegations" before filing the original complaint in October 2024.

The woman said she had contacted the law firm after seeing a Facebook ad seeking information about anyone who may have been harmed by Combs. The ad triggered memories of her being raped at age 13, she said, adding that she filled out an online form and was contacted by a law firm.

She said that weeks later a lawsuit was filed on her behalf but she had never been given a draft to review. REUTERS