By Fasuyi Tolulope Samuel
A woman who accused hip-hop moguls Sean “Diddy” Combs and Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter of sexually assaulting her when she was 13 has unexpectedly withdrawn her civil lawsuit.
According to court records, the lawsuit was officially dismissed on Friday. Legal documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York stated that the accuser “hereby gives notice that the above-captioned action is voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice.”
This means the case cannot be refiled.The woman, whose identity has remained undisclosed, initially alleged that Jay-Z and Diddy assaulted her at a party following the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2000.
The lawsuit, filed in December, sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry, reigniting debates on sexual misconduct allegations against high-profile celebrities.
While the exact reasons behind the dismissal remain unclear, it has not been confirmed whether the accuser reached a settlement with the defendants.
However, Jay-Z, 55, who has a billion-dollar empire, welcomed the lawsuit’s closure, maintaining that the allegations were baseless from the start.
“This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere. The fictional tale they created was laughable, if not for the seriousness of the claims,” Jay-Z stated.
The lawsuit’s abrupt dismissal has sparked speculation about what led the woman to withdraw her claims.
While neither Diddy nor Jay-Z has publicly commented further, the development marks a significant turn in a case that initially threatened to stain their legacies.
With the case now legally shut, attention shifts to whether any further allegations or legal actions will emerge, or if this marks the end of yet another high-profile celebrity controversy.
