A woman who previously accused Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter of sexual assault has been heard in a newly surfaced recording admitting that the rapper did not assault her. The lawsuit against Jay-Z has since been withdrawn with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
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According to an excerpt of the recording obtained by ABC News, the woman, identified as Jane Doe, told two private investigators associated with Carter that he “didn’t have anything to do with any sexual acts” towards her.
The original lawsuit claimed that both Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulted the woman following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards when she was 13 years old. However, in the recording, Jane Doe also claimed her attorney, Tony Buzbee, had “pushed” her to include Jay-Z in the lawsuit.
“He was the one that kind of pushed me towards going forward with him, with Jay-Z,” she said in the recording.
Jay-Z’s attorney, Alex Spiro, denied that Carter has ever met Jane Doe and said the recording confirms his client’s innocence.
“She says in no uncertain terms Mr. Carter did not do this. It’s effectively a lie and the only reason Mr. Carter is even involved in this is because she was pushed to involve him,” Spiro told ABC News.
However, Buzbee strongly denied those claims, calling the suggestion that he pressured Jane Doe into suing Jay-Z a “blatant lie.”
“As far as the suggestion that I pushed Jane Doe to bring a case against Jay-Z, that is a blatant lie that is directly contrary to all the documentary evidence,” Buzbee said in a statement.
Jane Doe has also released a sworn declaration stating that she stands by her original claims but withdrew the lawsuit due to “fear of intimidation and retaliation from Jay-Z” and his fans. She also denied being coerced by Buzbee and said she felt “intimidated and terrified” when approached by the investigators.
Jay-Z is now suing Jane Doe and Buzbee for defamation.
