A lawsuit accusing Jay-Z of rape has been voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff who originally filed it.
According to legal documents obtained by Entertainment Weekly, the Jane Doe plaintiff moved Friday to dismiss her lawsuit, which alleged that the “99 Problems” rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, raped a 13-year-old girl at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty in 2000 alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs. First filed in October, the complaint was amended in December to include Carter’s name in December. Representatives for Carter and Combs both denied the allegations.
Carter responded to the suit’s dismissal in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. “Today is a victory,” the rapper wrote. “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. I would not wish this experience on anyone. The trauma that my wife, my children, my loved ones and I have endured can never be dismissed.”
Carter’s statement went on to attack one of the plaintiff’s lawyers, Tony Buzbee, who has filed several other lawsuits against Combs and also works as a personal injury lawyer. “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,” the statement says. “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.”
Meanwhile, Combs’ attorneys also responded to the news in a similar statement to EW. “Today’s complete dismissal without a settlement by the 1-800 attorney is yet another confirmation that these lawsuits are built on falsehoods, not facts,” Combs’ lawyers wrote. “For months, we have seen case after case filed by individuals hiding behind anonymity, pushed forward by an attorney more focused on media headlines than legal merit. Just like this claim, the others will fall apart because there is no truth to them.”
The statement continued, “Sean Combs has never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor. No number of lawsuits, sensationalized allegations, or media theatrics will change that reality. We will continue to fight these baseless claims and hold those responsible. This is just the first of many that will not hold up in a court of law.”
