JAY-Z's Rape Accuser Disputes Retraction Audio, Claims She Was Pressured

In a surprising twist, the woman who accused rap mogul JAY-Z of sexual assault is now disputing the significance of a recently surfaced audio recording that appeared to show her retracting the allegations.

Last year, an anonymous woman filed a lawsuit against JAY-Z (real name Shawn Carter), accusing him of sexually assaulting her at an afterparty following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. The lawsuit, which was originally filed with Diddy as a co-defendant, was later refiled in December 2024 with JAY-Z as the sole defendant.

However, on Wednesday, an excerpt of a meeting between two private investigators and the Jane Doe accuser was shared by ABC News. In the recording, the woman seems to indicate that JAY-Z did not sexually assault her, and that her attorney, Tony Buzbee, had "pushed" her to go forward with the lawsuit.

JAY-Z's lawyer, Alex Spiro, seized on this, telling ABC News that the woman's statements in the recording effectively proved that the allegations were "a lie" and that the only reason JAY-Z was involved was because the accuser was "pushed to involve him."

But in a new declaration, the woman is now disputing the significance of the audio recording. She claims that the two private investigators showed up unannounced at her home, and during their conversation, she was not "calm, natural, or at ease" and "trembled the entire time we spoke."

Furthermore, the accuser denies ever stating that Buzbee had pushed her to sue JAY-Z, saying: "I never made any such statements to [investigator Charlotte] Henderson or any other person." She also maintains that she "never stated (whether once or 4 times) that Mr. Carter did not assault me."

This latest development adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing legal battle between JAY-Z and his anonymous accuser. The woman's claims that she was pressured and uncomfortable during the recorded conversation, as well as her insistence that she stands by her original allegations, suggest that the audio recording may not be as definitive as it first appeared.

It remains to be seen how this case will ultimately play out, but it's clear that the accuser is not backing down, despite the emergence of the seemingly exculpatory audio recording. The legal battle between these two parties is far from over.