Woman Takes Back Sexual Assault Claims Against Jay-Z

A woman who accused American rapper Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter of sexual assault has withdrawn her allegations, saying she never met or spoke to the billionaire musician.

In a 12-page declaration filed in Manhattan federal court, the woman said her claims against Carter were false and acknowledged the harm they caused him.

“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.”

“There is no truth to any of my claims against Mr. Carter,” she added under penalty of perjury, saying the accusations caused Carter “immense pain, suffering, and damage.”

The woman’s new lawyer, James Blair Newman Jr., said his client maintains that she was a victim of sexual assault but was mistaken in identifying Carter.

“Mr. Carter did not rape her, sexually assault her, engage in any inappropriate conduct towards her, and she has never met him. She sincerely and unconditionally apologizes to Mr. Carter and his family,” Newman said.

The declaration was filed alongside a notice that Carter was voluntarily dismissing the woman as a defendant in his ongoing malicious-prosecution lawsuit against lawyer Tony Buzbee and his Texas-based law firm. The woman said she was not promised or paid any compensation for making the declaration.

According to the filing, the woman’s case began after she responded to a Facebook advertisement seeking people with sexual-assault claims against Sean “Diddy” Combs. She said the advertisement triggered memories of an assault and that she later became uncertain about parts of her account.

“In January 2025, I began to doubt my claims against Mr. Carter. I also began doubting that I ever went to a party with celebrities,” she wrote.

The original lawsuit, filed in late 2024, accused Carter and Combs of sexually assaulting her at a 2000 MTV Video Music Awards after-party when she was 13. Carter and Combs denied the allegations. The woman voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice in February 2025, meaning the case could not be refiled.

Buzbee has previously disputed Carter’s allegations against him and, according to the latest reporting, said he had not seen the new declaration. He maintained that the woman had previously given the same account to multiple lawyers.

Carter had repeatedly denied the allegations and subsequently pursued legal action against Buzbee and others connected to the case. The latest declaration marks a significant development in the continuing legal dispute.