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Rolling Stone reports that the woman now says Jay-Z never assaulted her. The rapper is dropping her from his lawsuit while continuing his case against her former lawyers.
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The woman who accused Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 has retracted the allegation in a declaration filed in Manhattan federal court on 24 September 2026, according to Rolling Stone. The magazine reports that the rapper also filed notice dropping her as a defendant in his malicious-prosecution lawsuit, while continuing his case against lawyer Tony Buzbee and his firm. [6]
Rolling Stone said it obtained the 12-page declaration, in which the woman states: “Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter never raped me. I have never met or spoken to Mr. Carter.” The BBC reports that she also expressly withdrew the specific allegation that Carter and Sean “Diddy” Combs had raped her. [6] [1]
The original civil claim concerned an alleged assault following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Both men denied it. Carter was named in an amended complaint in December 2024, and the woman withdrew the action in February 2025 with prejudice, meaning it could not be brought again. That dismissal did not establish whether the allegation was true. [2] [7]
Her current lawyer, James Blair Newman Jr., told Rolling Stone that she still maintains she was sexually assaulted, but had been entirely mistaken in identifying Carter. That statement does not independently establish another assault. [6]
According to the BBC, the woman denied receiving money from Carter or anyone acting for him, being paid for the latest declaration, or receiving threats from his side. The complete terms under which Carter is dropping her from his lawsuit have not been independently verified. [1]
She also alleges that her former lawyers filed the original complaint without her authorisation and without independent investigation or corroboration. Buzbee told Rolling Stone he had not seen the new declaration and said at least four lawyers had previously heard the same account from her. The competing accounts do not establish misconduct by the lawyers. [1]
In a separate California case, an appeal court on 9 September upheld the dismissal of Carter’s civil extortion, defamation and emotional distress claims against Buzbee and his firm. [2] Rolling Stone reported that the court found Buzbee’s demand letter protected and no evidence that he had accused Carter knowing the allegation was false or recklessly disregarding its truth. That decision preceded the latest declaration and did not determine that the rape allegation was true. [6]
7 listed sources · explore evidence, limitations and provenance.
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The latest declaration follows conflicting statements in 2025. ABC News reported that March that, in a recording made by investigators associated with Carter, the woman agreed he had not assaulted her and said Buzbee had pushed her to sue. But ABC also reported a sworn declaration in which she maintained her allegation and said she withdrew it out of fear of intimidation and retaliation. Buzbee denied pushing her to sue; Carter’s lawyer Alex Spiro denied that investigators had coerced or threatened her. [7]
A subsequent California appeal court opinion described the interview as secretly recorded by investigators indirectly acting for Carter, after he had promised that neither he nor his agents would harass or further interact with her. It said the investigators presented themselves as independent hires offering help. Those circumstances concern the earlier recording, not the September 2026 declaration. [2]