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Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs are standing tall, as Bad Boy Records was officially dropped Monday as a defendant in the high-profile rape case against the music moguls.
As per Deadline, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres signed off on a voluntary dismissal of the complaints filed by lawyers for the plaintiffs.
In the lawsuit, Jane Doe, the plaintiff, accused Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 years old in the year 2000 alongside both Combs and a third unnamed female celebrity. The alleged incident allegedly happened at one of Combs' after-parties for the MTV Video Music Awards.
According to the outlet, while the dismissal of Bad Boy Records was granted, Jay-Z and Combs were not, and remain a defendant along with a multitude of other companies that fall under Combs' corporate umbrella, including CE OPCO LLC and Bad Boy Entertainment Holdings Inc.
The lawsuit, filed last October, originally named Bad Boy Records as a defendant, but the legal team for Jane Doe—who attorney Tony Buzbee is representing—dropped the label as a defendant.
The decision was made while vetting how Combs' companies overlap due to redundancy.
Bad Boy Records is no longer part of the in-depth federal criminal case, but the recording label still has plenty of civil action pending against it related to Combs. They involve additional allegations of sex crimes and abuse.
Bad Boy Records was established in 1993, close to the zenith of Combs' music mogul prowess, with the Bill Clinton administration once estimating the label's worth at over $100 million.
Decades of music industry boom and bust and fluctuating fortunes for Diddy have found Bad Boy, or what remained of it, in various states at several different conglomerates.
The label is now in the Sony Music Entertainment family.
Jay-Z Denies Allegations
Jay-Z denied the allegations, saying in a statement to Roc Nation last year that they were "heinous" and "idiotic."
— Roc Nation (@RocNation) December 9, 2024
His attorney, Alex Spiro, has been constantly disputing discrepancies with Jane Doe's testimony in an attempt to make the charges dismissed.
At the same time, the defense has unsuccessfully tried to uncover the plaintiff's real name and, citing "lack of diligence," seeks to penalize Buzbee.
Combs, meanwhile, has been currently held at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since his September arrest for racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation for prostitution.
The trial date was assigned for May 5. While legal wranglings are ongoing, Buzbee told the newspaper that additional suits could be brought against Combs, regardless of any Bad Boy Record links.
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