An Alabama woman who had accused rappers Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her when she was 13 has withdrawn her civil lawsuit against them, according to court filings made public on Friday.
Back in December, the woman added Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) to a lawsuit she had already filed against Combs in Manhattan federal court. She claimed that in 2000, after Combs’ limo driver offered her a ride to an MTV Video Music Awards after-party, she was attacked by both men.
However, the document filed by the woman’s attorneys announcing her decision to drop the case didn’t offer any reasons for the withdrawal.
Jay-Z, who strongly denied the accusations and had previously tried to get removed from the lawsuit, called the woman’s move to dismiss the case “a victory” for him. He described the allegations as a “fictional tale” and said it was “laughable.”
Meanwhile, Combs is still in jail in New York, awaiting a federal trial on sex trafficking charges. He’s also facing multiple sexual assault lawsuits, many of which have been filed by attorney Tony Buzbee, who represents over 150 alleged victims—both men and women—who claim they were abused or exploited by Combs.
Combs’ legal team said the dismissal of this lawsuit without a settlement only proves that the other lawsuits are based on false claims. When Buzbee was asked for a comment, he simply replied with “no comment” via email.
Buzbee’s firm, which has set up a 1-800 number for other potential accusers, has filed a series of lawsuits accusing Combs of abusing people at parties in New York, California, and Florida, where the plaintiffs claim they were given drinks spiked with drugs.
Both Jay-Z and Combs made remarks in their statements referring to Buzbee and his firm as the “1-800-lawyer.” Jay-Z also accused Buzbee of “hiding behind Jane Doe” for financial gain.
