The woman who accused Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter of sexually assaulting her in 2000 is now asking a judge to dismiss the rapper’s lawsuit against her.
The woman, identified in court docs obtained by PEOPLE as Jane Doe, alleged in a December 2024 complaint that Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs raped her at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty when she was 13 years old.
Though Doe’s attorneys voluntarily dismissed the case in February, Jay-Z filed his own lawsuit against Doe and her legal team, Tony Buzbee and David Fortney, a month later. He sued Doe and her lawyers, alleging malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and civil conspiracy. He also sued Doe separately, alleging defamation. He claimed in his complaint that the initial allegations of rape against him were knowingly “false” and “malicious,” and Doe’s lawsuit was “strategically and tactically calculated” in an attempt to extort him.
On Tuesday, April 22, Doe filed a motion to dismiss Jay-Z’s lawsuit, alleging that he “fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
Her attorneys argued in the motion that Jay-Z’s malicious prosecution claim fails short since he alleges “the […] lawsuit was initiated and prosecuted for malicious reasons, not that any process was wrongfully used after issuance.”
“Carter has not alleged facts that would support an abuse of process claim,” the motion states.
The filing says the civil conspiracy claim against the accuser should also be dismissed as her lawyers “have shown that, as attorneys, they are not liable for civil conspiracy under these allegations.”
“Since a conspiracy requires more than one party, Doe cannot be liable for civil conspiracy,” the motion continues.
Doe requests that the defamation claim against her be dismissed, stating that the allegations in her complaint and comments to the media are “absolutely privileged” under California law “and cannot form the basis for a defamation claim.”
Doe’s motion further claims that based on Jay-Z’s own allegations in his complaint, he was not damaged by any potentially defamatory statements, because he alleged that an NBC News piece “disproved” Doe’s claims and and because he claimed that “[n]o person of ordinary care and prudence” would have believed that Carter sexually assaulted Doe.”
In his filing, Jay-Z alleged Doe’s “frivolous” lawsuit caused him “to suffer actual and special damages, including, but not limited to, harm to his personal and professional reputation, harm to his business entity, Roc Nation—which resulted in his business suffering substantial losses in excess of $20 million—out-of-pocket loss, and emotional harm, humiliation, and harassment.”
Jay-Z is seeking assumed, actual and punitive damages.
PEOPLE reached out to Jay-Z, Doe and Buzbee for comment.
Jay-Z’s attorney Alex Spiro previously addressed the rapper’s decision to sue Doe and her attorneys, telling Good Morning America in March, “The truth had to fully come out. This person cannot be allowed to sort of hide from the reality that this was a false accusation.”
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Spiro also addressed a recording purported to be Doe denying that Jay-Z ever sexually assaulted her, and that Buzbee “pushed” her to name Jay-Z.
“She says in no uncertain terms, Mr. Carter did not do this,” Spiro said last month. “It is effectively a lie and the only reason Mr. Carter is even involved in this was because she was pushed to involve him, pushed to include him by a lawyer.”
Buzbee responded, telling GMA that Spiro’s claims were a “blatant lie.”
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