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Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, was accused in a 2024 civil complaint of sexually assaulting an anonymous woman when she was 13, after an after-party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. The plaintiff later dismissed the claims with prejudice in February 2025. In September 2026, she filed a declaration saying she had never met Carter and that her allegations against him were false. These are distinct events: the complaint contained allegations, the dismissal was not a trial or factual ruling, and the later declaration is the plaintiff’s statement—not a court finding.
What did the lawsuit allege?
The anonymous plaintiff’s civil complaint alleged that Sean Combs’s limousine driver offered her a ride to an after-party following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, where Combs and Carter sexually assaulted her. The complaint said she was 13 at the time. Those claims were allegations in a civil case, not findings established by a court. Carter denied them.
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This was not a criminal charge against Carter. The available reporting does not identify a criminal charge against him arising from this complaint.
What happened to the original lawsuit?
On February 14, 2025, the plaintiff filed a notice voluntarily dismissing her claims against Carter and Combs with prejudice. The notice gave no reason. A dismissal with prejudice means those claims cannot be brought again in that action; it does not mean a judge or jury held a trial or decided whether the allegations were true.
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Carter described the dismissal as a victory and characterized the allegations as false. Those are his characterizations, not a court’s factual conclusion.
What did the plaintiff say in 2026?
In September 2026, the plaintiff filed a declaration stating that her allegations against Carter were false and that she had never met or spoken to him. As reported by The Guardian, the declaration said: “Shawn Carter, Jay-Z, never raped me. I have never met Carter nor have I ever spoken to him.” This was the plaintiff’s statement in a court filing; it was not a judicial finding.
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The declaration came after the February 2025 dismissal. The dismissal notice did not explain why the plaintiff withdrew her claims, so the two developments should not be treated as the same event.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How are Carter’s later lawsuits different?
Federal case transferred to New York
In a separate federal lawsuit brought by Carter against the woman and her former attorneys, the Southern District of Alabama transferred the case to the Southern District of New York on March 31, 2026. The transfer order said dismissal motions remained pending before the receiving court; it did not decide the merits of Carter’s claims. The plaintiff’s later declaration was followed by Carter’s attorneys dismissing her as a defendant in that litigation.
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Separate California case
A California appellate court affirmed the striking of Carter’s extortion and defamation claims against attorney Tony Buzbee and his firm under California’s anti-SLAPP law. That was a separate California proceeding, not the federal case transferred to New York.
The available reporting and court materials establish the transfer and the California appellate result, but do not establish a later merits ruling in the transferred federal case as of October 8, 2026.
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