As the holiday season unfolds, Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter is trading festivities for legal filings, pressing for Jane Doe, the woman accusing him of a 2000 sexual assault, to reveal her identity.
In a motion submitted just before Christmas, JAY-Z’s legal team argued that Doe’s public interview with NBC News invalidates her claim to anonymity, asserting that fairness and transparency demand she proceed under her real name.
The lawsuit, filed in October, alleges that Doe was drugged and sexually assaulted by JAY-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs at an afterparty following the MTV Video Music Awards.
While Doe has remained anonymous in court, JAY-Z’s attorneys contend her recent decision to share her story on a nationally televised program negates the justification for her privacy.
“By choosing to participate in a public NBC News interview, [Jane Doe] has deliberately placed herself in the public eye, undermining any claim that anonymity is necessary to protect her well-being,” JAY-Z’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, said. “This imbalance unfairly harms Mr. Carter by allowing unverified accusations to damage his reputation while shielding the accuser from similar scrutiny.”
The interview, which aired earlier this month, featured Doe describing her alleged assault and detailing her decision to come forward after more than two decades.
JAY-Z legal has seized on the segment, arguing that it exposes glaring inconsistencies in her allegations and raises questions about her credibility.
During the interview, Doe claimed her father drove over five hours from Rochester to New York City to pick her up after the incident.
However, her father contradicted this account, telling NBC, “I feel like I would remember that, and I don’t. . . that’s something that would definitely stick in my mind.”
This, along with other discrepancies regarding the party’s location and the presence of specific individuals, has become a cornerstone of JAY-Z’s defense.
“Her statements in the NBC interview directly conflict with key elements of her lawsuit, highlighting the lack of corroboration and credibility in her claims,” Spiro explained.
These contradictions, combined with her public disclosures, warrant the removal of her anonymity, according to Spiro and JAY-Z.
JAY-Z’s legal team framed their argument as a matter of fairness, pointing out the disparity in how the two parties are treated. While Doe has remained shielded from public scrutiny, JAY-Z—a global public figure—has faced widespread reputational damage as his name remains prominently linked to the case.
“Given her voluntary participation in a high-profile media interview, there is no reasonable justification for continued anonymity,” Spiro added.
JAY-Z has vehemently denied the allegations. In addition to warring with Jane Doe, the mogul is feuding with her lawyer, Tony Buzbee.