An Alabama woman who accused Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her when she was 13 has withdrawn her civil lawsuit against them, according to court filings.
The lawsuit, initially filed in Manhattan federal court, was voluntarily dismissed on Friday. The plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe, had claimed she was assaulted by the artists in 2000 after being offered a ride to an MTV Video Music Awards after-party by Combs’ limo driver.
The court document announcing the withdrawal did not provide a reason for the decision.
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Jay-Z, who denied the allegations and sought to be removed from the lawsuit, called the woman’s decision “a victory,” stating that the claims were baseless.
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“The frivolous, fictitious, and appalling allegations have been dismissed,” he wrote on social media. “This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere.”
Meanwhile, Combs remains in custody in New York, facing federal sex trafficking charges and multiple sexual assault lawsuits. His attorneys argued that the dismissal of this lawsuit further discredits other pending cases against him.
“For months, we have seen case after case filed by anonymous individuals, driven by an attorney seeking media attention rather than justice. Just like this claim, the others will fall apart because there is no truth to them,” Combs’ lawyers said in a statement, reiterating that he “has never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone.”
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Texas attorney Tony Buzbee, who represents over 150 individuals alleging sexual abuse by Combs, declined to comment on the lawsuit’s withdrawal, according to AP.
His firm has filed multiple claims against the hip-hop mogul, alleging abuse at parties in New York, California, and Florida.
Both Jay-Z and Combs took aim at Buzbee in their statements, accusing him of using the case for financial gain. Jay-Z criticized what he called a legal system that allows false claims to be filed with no consequences for the accuser.
Jay-Z and Combs, two of hip-hop’s most influential figures, have collaborated on music over the years and built multimillion-dollar business empires. While Jay-Z has won 25 Grammys, Combs has earned three, with his Bad Boy Records label rivaling Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella imprint in the 2000s.
