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Jay-Z has broken his silence about the 2024 rape lawsuit that accused him and fellow music mogul Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs of raping a teenage girl more than two decades ago \u2014 a complaint that has since been dismissed.<\/p>\n
The rap giant and Roc Nation billionaire spoke candidly about the fallout and emotional toll of the accusations<\/a> in a lengthy \u2014 and rare \u2014 conversation with GQ\u2019s Frazier Tharpe published<\/a> on Tuesday. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, said that that period left him feeling \u201creally heartbroken by everything that occurred.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThat s\u2014 took a lot out of me. I was angry,\u201d he said. \u201cI haven\u2019t been that angry in a long time, uncontrollable anger.\u201d<\/p>\n In December 2024, Jay-Z was named as a co-defendant in one of a swarm of sexual assault lawsuits<\/a> against Combs. The complaint<\/a> accused the two musicians of taking turns raping a 13-year-old girl at a party after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000. He emphatically denied the accusations at the time. Combs also denied the allegations. <\/p>\n Later that month, the anonymous accuser, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, acknowledged there were several inconsistencies<\/a> in her recollection of the alleged assault but stood firmly behind her accusations. In February 2024, the woman dropped her lawsuit<\/a> against the musicians, filing to dismiss it with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t put that on someone \u2014 that\u2019s a thing that you better be super sure,\u201d he said of the lawsuit, adding, \u201c[Y]ou had to be super sure before you put those kind of things on a person. Especially a person like me.\u201d<\/p>\n The 56-year-old rap star, who shares three children with Beyonc\u00e9, said he relied on family and his close circle amid the \u201cthe darkest moment,\u201d but that he \u201calso got to see how people felt about me.\u201d Though he did not name names, the Roc Nation boss said \u201cpeople run\u201d when confronted with scandal, adding that \u201cthey don\u2019t care what happened\u201d and \u201cit\u2019s like, save yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that settling the lawsuit was just not in the cards, even if it would\u2019ve ended the lawsuit faster. He said he felt the \u201cweight that this is going to bring on our family.\u201d<\/p>\n He couldn\u2019t do it, he said: \u201cI would die.\u201d<\/p>\n Tina Knowles, left, Jay-Z, Beyonc\u00e9 and Blue Ivy Carter arrive at the premiere of \u201cMufasa: The Lion King\u201d in December 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n (Richard Shotwell \/ Invision \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n News of the allegations against Jay-Z broke just a day before the glitzy Hollywood premiere of \u201cMufasa: The Lion King,\u201d which featured the voices of his wife and daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. Jay-Z and Beyonc\u00e9 appeared alongside their daughter on the red carpet. He told GQ it wasn\u2019t easy. <\/p>\n