The lawsuit accusing Jay-Z of rape has been officially dismissed.
According to information acquired by Us Weekly on February 14, the legal case was officially thrown out. The lawsuit claimed that the artist, known by his real name Shawn Carter, had assaulted a 13-year-old girl in conjunction with Sean “Diddy” Combs at an afterparty for the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2000.
“The baseless charges against Jay-Z, which should never have been brought in the first place, have now been dismissed conclusively,” Jay-Z’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, explained in a statement to Us on that same Friday. “By boldly refuting these vile and untrue accusations, Jay has demonstrated a rare strength – he stood his ground, declined any settlement, did not pay a single cent, prevailed, and proved his innocence.”
Jay-Z, for his part, took to social media to release a statement via his company, Roc Nation.
“Today marks a triumph. The unfounded, invented, and shocking claims have been officially rejected. This legal action had no credibility and was destined for failure,” Jay-Z conveyed through a spokesperson on Friday. “The fabricated narrative they concocted was absurd, were it not for the gravity of the allegations. I wouldn’t wish this ordeal on anyone. The anguish that my wife, my kids, my family, and I have had to bear cannot be trivialized.”
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.”
