According to court filings, an Alabama woman who claimed she was raped at the age of 13 by rappers Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs dropped her civil lawsuit against both men on Friday.
In December, the unidentified woman added Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, to a lawsuit she had filed against Combs in Manhattan federal court, alleging that the singers attacked her in 2000 after Combs’ limo driver offered her a ride to an MTV Video Music Awards after-party.
Jay-Z, who vehemently denied the claims and attempted to get out of the lawsuit, called the woman’s decision to withdraw the lawsuit “a victory” and said the “fictional tale” she and her lawyers concocted was “laughable.”
“The frivolous, fictious, and appalling allegations have been dismissed,” he wrote in a social media post. “This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere.”
Combs is still in jail in New York, awaiting a criminal trial on federal sex trafficking charges. He is also facing a slew of sexual assault lawsuits, many of which were filed by the plaintiff’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, a Texas attorney who claims to represent over 150 men and women who claim Combs sexually abused and exploited them.
Combs’ lawyers said the lawsuit is dismissal without a settlement confirmed that other lawsuits against him are based on falsehoods.
“For months, we have seen case after case filed by people hiding behind anonymity, pushed through by an attorney who is more concerned with media headlines than legal merit.
“Just like this claim, the others will fall apart because they are false,” they said in a statement, adding that Combs “has never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone — man or woman, adult or minor.”
A message was left requesting a response from Buzbee.
Jay-Z and Combs are part of a generation of hip-hop legends who rose to prominence in the 2000s, becoming successful entrepreneurs and two of the world’s wealthiest rappers.
The artists have collaborated in the past, with Jay-Z appearing on Combs’ debut album, “No Way Out,” and Combs appearing on Jay-Z’s sophomore album, “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1.”
Diddy founded Bad Boy Records around the same time Jay-Z established his Roc-A-Fella record label. The couple has been frequently photographed together at events.
Jay-Z has won 25 Grammys, while Diddy has won three.
