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Woman drops suit accusing Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13
Jay-Z attends the Los Angeles premiere of Sony Pictures' <em>The Book Of Clarence</em> at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Jan. 5, 2024.
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The woman who accused Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs of raping her when she was 13 years old has dropped her lawsuit against both men.
Court records show that a notice of voluntary dismissal against all defendants was submitted on Friday. It was dismissed "with prejudice," meaning the plaintiff cannot re-file a suit.
It comes less than four months after the suit was initially filed. The suit included disturbing details of how the woman was allegedly lured by a limousine driver outside the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards and assaulted by the two rappers at an after-party.
Attorneys for the woman, identified in the lawsuit as "Jane Doe," did not disclose the reason for withdrawing the complaint, according to court records. They declined to comment Saturday.
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Jay-Z — whose real name is Shawn Carter — has strongly denied the claims and his attorneys had been seeking to get the case dismissed. In a statement on Saturday, Carter said the claims were "frivolous, fictitious and appalling" and called the suit a "money-grab."
"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," he said.
Combs currently faces several lawsuits alleging physical assault, rape and other misconduct. He is currently held in a New York City jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
On Saturday, Combs' attorneys said the suit dropped on Friday will be the "first of many that will not hold up in a court of law."
"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," Combs' legal team said in a statement.
In December, the woman, who remained anonymous, did an interview with NBC News, sharing that she is now a 38-year-old mother in Alabama. She told NBC that she had stayed quiet about the alleged assault for over two decades because she did not think anyone would believe her.
In her account, the woman said the assault took place on the night of the 2000 VMAs when she was 13. She was standing outside the awards show in Radio City Music Hall in New York City when she met a limousine driver who claimed to work for Combs, according to the suit and interview with NBC.
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The driver took her to an "after-party" where she took a drink served by a waitress and felt lightheaded, the woman alleged. She looked for a room to lie down in, and Combs, Carter and an unnamed woman followed. The suit alleged Carter raped her first, then Combs, while the woman watched.
Carter's attorneys have argued that the woman's allegations contained a number of inconsistencies, including that they were unable to find the location of the after-party, which the woman described as a large white house with a gated U-shaped driveway about a 20-minute drive from Radio City Music Hall.
Carter's attorneys have also pointed to NBC News reporting that musician Benji Madden — who the woman claimed was at the after-party — was on tour in the Midwest at the time.
According to court records, Combs' trial for sex trafficking and racketeering charges is scheduled to begin in May.
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