Billionaire rapper and businessman Jay-Z recently opened up about his emotions after a woman filed a sexual assault lawsuit against him, saying that he was left “really heartbroken” by the allegations that were brought against him.
The 2024 lawsuit, which has since been dismissed, was filed against Jay-Z, 56, and convicted music executive Sean “Diddy” Combs. The woman claimed that she was 13 years old when Jay-Z and Combs, 56, sexually assaulted her at a party, ABC News reported. The woman also claimed that the incident happened after the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.
The woman, however, dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice in February 2025. Both Jay-Z and Combs also released statements to deny the allegations.
“It was hard. Really hard. I was heartbroken. I’m glad we got right to that so we could just get that out the way. Like I was really heartbroken by everything that occurred. We’re in a space now where it’s almost like consequence is not thought about enough. Because everything is so instant, you know what I’m saying? Jay-Z told GQ in an interview that was published on Tuesday.
“That whole [lawsuit thing], that sh*t took a lot out of me. I was angry. I haven’t been that angry in a long time, uncontrollable anger. You don’t put that on someone—that’s a thing that you better be super sure. It used to be like that. You had to be super sure before you put those kind of things on a person. Especially a person like me,” the Blueprint rapper added.
“Even when we were doing the worst things, we had those kind of rules. There was a line: no women, no kids. You hear those sayings, but those are the things that I took from the street. We lived and died by that. So it’s strict for me, like it meant a lot to me.”
He continued: “I took that really hard. I knew that we were going to walk through that because, first of all, it’s not true. And the truth, at the end of the day, still reigns supreme.”
Jay-Z said that he was convinced the court would get to the bottom of the matter, though the incident had negatively impacted him.
“I also got to see how people felt about me, especially people that were close to me,” Jay-Z stated before making reference to his daughter Blue Ivy showing him support by wearing a jersey with his name on the back to school.
“People can say that [they’ll always be there for you], but it’s very rare that you’re going to have to exercise it,” he continued. “And in the darkest moment for me, I got to see those sorts of things.”
The sexual assault lawsuit against Jay-Z and Combs was filed on behalf of the plaintiff by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee. Jay-Z, born Shawn Corey Carter, and his lawyer publicly hit back at Buzbee and accused him of pursuing an “extortionate campaign” against the music executive, ABC News reported.
The legal team representing Combs touched on Buzbee’s lawsuits, describing them as “publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them.”
In March 2025, Jay-Z ultimately slapped the woman, as well as Buzbee and her other lawyer, David Fortney, with a defamation lawsuit. The suit claims that the defendants “were soullessly motivated by greed, in abject disregard of the truth and the most fundamental precepts of human decency.”
Buzbee, however, told ABC News in a statement that there was “no legal merit” in Jay-Z’s lawsuit, and it was “just another attempt to intimidate and bully this poor woman.”
In the GQ interview, Jay-Z was asked how he manages to “bounce back and get back” to being himself when he’s “feeling these feelings.”
“I don’t know,” he responded. “This is the first thing I’m doing, actually. It was just like, alright man, we played enough defense. 2026 is all offense.”
Source: face2faceafrica