A woman who had rap superstars Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 dropped her civil lawsuit on Friday, according to court records.
The anonymous woman from the southern US state of Alabama had in December added Jay-Z — whose real name is Shawn Carter — to the lawsuit in a federal court in Manhattan in which she had alleged that she was attacked by the hip-hop artists in 2000 after Combs’ driver offered her a ride to an MTV Video Music Awards after-party.
A filing in the federal court showed that the woman voluntarily dismissed the case with prejudice, which means that the suit cannot be refiled.
Singers react
Billionaire musician Jay-Z welcomed the closure of the case, denouncing it as “frivolous, fictitious and appalling.”
“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,” the singer said in a statement.
Combs is currently in a New York jail where he awaits a criminal trial slated for May 5 over charges of racketeering and .
He has also been slapped with a flurry of other civil lawsuits by women and men who accuse him of sexual abuse and exploitation.
Combs’ lawyers released a joint statement in which they maintained that the hip-hop mogul has never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone.
“We will continue to fight these baseless claims and hold those responsible,” they said. “This is just the first of many that will not hold up in a court of law.”
Jay-Z and Combs have collaborated professionally several times and have featured in each other’s albums.
Edited by Sean M. Sinico
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