Jay-Z. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
The lawsuit accusing Jay-Z of rape has been officially dismissed.
According to docs obtained by Us Weekly on Friday, February 14, the lawsuit was “dismissed with prejudice.” The filing alleged that the rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, raped a 13-year-old girl along with Sean “Diddy” Combs at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty in September 2000.
“The false case against Jay-Z, that never should have been brought, has been dismissed with prejudice,” Jay-Z’s attorney Alex Spiro said in a statement to Us on Friday. “By standing up in the face of heinous and false allegations, Jay has done what few can – he pushed back, he never settled, he never paid 1 red penny, he triumphed and cleared his name.”
Jay-Z, for his part, took to social media to release a statement via his company, Roc Nation.
Lawyer Alex Spiro shared new insight into how his client Jay-Z reacted to the recent rape allegation against him. “He’s upset,” Spiro, 41, said of Jay-Z, 55, during a roundtable with press at Roc Nation’s NYC offices on Monday, December 16, which Us Weekly attended. “He’s upset that somebody would be allowed to do this, […]
“Today is a victory. The frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations have been dismissed. This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere,” Jay-Z shared via X on Friday. “The fictional tale they created was laughable, if not for the seriousness of the claims. I would not wish this experience on anyone. The trauma that my wife, my children, loved ones and I have endured can never be dismissed.”
While the musical mogul was happy justice was on his side, he expressed his sympathies for victims who have suffered from sexual assault and those who have been falsely accused.
“The court must protect victims, OF COURSE, while with the same ethical responsibility, the courts must protect the innocent from being accused without a shred of evidence,” he continued. “May the truth prevail for all victims and those falsely accused equally.”
Both stars have repeatedly denied the allegations. On January 2, Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York granted a request from Jay-Z’s lawyer to file to dismiss the case on procedural grounds.
Spiro’s request came in a December 30 letter to Torres, which argued that Jay-Z could not be prosecuted under New York City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act because it didn’t come into effect until after the alleged rape.
The law was not instated until December 2000, three months after that year’s VMAs. It was also amended in 2022 to allow a two-year window for people to come forward with historical claims that might have otherwise passed the statute of limitations.
Spiro argued that it didn’t matter.
“Plaintiff cannot recover for her sole claim under the Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act (the GMV Law), as a matter of law, because the statute does not have retroactive effect,” he wrote.
Tony Buzbee, an attorney for the victim, identified as Jane Doe, countered by saying Spiro’s argument goes against the law’s intention.
“Defendant’s argument as to the GMVA is unpersuasive, as it is contrary to the law’s primary intention: to make it easier for victims of gender-motivated violence to seek civil remedies in court—not, as Defendant would have it, make it harder,” he wrote, according to a court document obtained by legal affairs journalist Meghann M. Cuniff.
Meanwhile, Jay-Z is suing Buzbee, accusing him of extortion and defamation. Buzbee also filed a suit against Jay-Z and his company, Roc Nation, alleging that it bribed its clients to file suits against his firm, threatened former clients and impersonated state officials. Roc Nation called the allegation “baloney.”
