A Jane Doe who accused rappers Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of raping her when she was 13 dropped her case on Friday.
Jay-Z issued a statement celebrating the dismissal, calling it a “victory.”
In a statement shared to Twitter by Roc Nation, he wrote, “Today is a victory. The frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations have been dismissed.”
The rapper, whose full name is Shawn Carter, called the allegations “frivolous, fictitious and appalling,” and added that the civil suit was “without merit and never going anywhere.”
The suit was originally filed only against Combs, with Carter being added as a co-defendant in December. The assault allegedly happened at an afterparty following the 2000 Video Music Awards.
The “Hard Knock Life” rapper went on to describe the trauma he experienced from the accusation, saying it has affected him, his wife Beyoncé Knowles, their children and their loved ones.
Carter said that “the system has failed” since the “1-800 lawyer” who filed the case “get to walk way with no repercussions.”
He added, “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. May the truth prevail for all victims and those falsely accused equally.”
Carter denied the charges from the beginning, calling the civil suit a “blackmail attempt” and a “money grab.”
Combs is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn while awaiting trial on multiple sexual assault charges. His trial for sex trafficking and racketeering is scheduled to begin on May 5.
