NEWS

A woman who accused Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 has formally withdrawn the allegations, stating in a new court filing that she never met or spoke with the rapper. The woman, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, previously alleged that Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs sexually assaulted her following the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. She dismissed her civil lawsuit against the two men in 2025. In a declaration filed Thursday, Doe said her allegations against Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, were false. She said she was prompted to contact attorneys after seeing a Facebook advertisement seeking people with sexual-assault claims involving Combs. According to her filing, the advertisement triggered memories of an assault she says occurred when she was 13. She also said she did not recall authorizing lawyers to file the 2024 complaint and later developed doubts about her claims. Jay-Z had denied the allegations and subsequently sued Doe and attorneys involved in the original case. Following her new declaration, Carter voluntarily dismissed Doe from that lawsuit, while his legal action against her former attorneys remains ongoing. Doe’s current attorney, James Blair Newman Jr., said she maintains that she was sexually assaulted but was mistaken in identifying Carter as the person involved. Tony Buzbee, who represented her previously, disputed the latest account and said he had not seen the declaration.

R&B singer Keke Wyatt was arrested in Georgia on multiple charges, including terroristic threats, simple assault and cruelty to children. The 44-year-old singer was booked into the Henry County Jail on September 20 and released two days later after posting $1,050 bond, according to the Henry County Sheriff’s Office. The circumstances surrounding the arrest remain unclear. The child cruelty charge is classified as a misdemeanor involving a minor allegedly witnessing or being present during an act of violence. The arrest comes nearly 25 years after Wyatt was indicted on a second-degree assault charge stemming from the stabbing of her then-husband and manager, Rahmat Morton. Wyatt maintained that she acted in self-defense, and the case was ultimately dismissed. In a 2012 interview with Essence, Wyatt discussed the incident and described her relationship with Morton as abusive, saying she believed her life was in danger at the time. She credited her faith and family with helping her move forward. Wyatt rose to prominence in the early 2000s through her collaborations with singer Avant, including the hit duets “My First Love” and “Nothing in This World.” Her debut album, Soul Sista, reached No. 5 on Billboard’s R&B and hip-hop albums chart. She later released several studio albums, including Who Knew? (2010), Unbelievable! (2011) and Rated Love (2016). USA TODAY reported that it contacted Wyatt’s representative for comment.

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a copyright lawsuit alleging that Sam Smith and Normani’s 2019 hit “Dancing with a Stranger” infringes an earlier song with the same title. U.S. District Judge Wesley L. Hsu denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgment in an order filed September 22, allowing the case, brought by Sound and Color LLC, to move toward a jury trial. The company is owned by songwriter Jordan Vincent and production duo SKX, consisting of Christopher Miranda and Rosco Banlaoi, who wrote their “Dancing with a Stranger” in 2015. Smith, James Napier, Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Eriksen wrote the later song on August 7, 2018, and it was released in January 2019 with Normani providing vocals. The defendants argued that no reasonable jury could find the two songs’ hooks strikingly similar and contended that the earlier song was not entitled to copyright protection because it incorporated unlicensed samples. Hsu rejected both arguments, criticizing the defendants’ approach of examining the songs’ musical elements separately rather than considering their combined effect. The judge said plaintiff expert Dr. Alexander Stewart provided sufficient analysis for a jury to consider whether the similarities support a finding of copying.  The judge also declined to remove the earlier song’s copyright protection because of its use of samples from Masters At Work’s “The Ha Dance” and Lyn Collins’ “Think (About It),” finding that the defendants had not demonstrated that the material taken was substantial. Hsu previously granted summary judgment to the defendants in September 2023, but the Ninth Circuit reversed that decision in April 2025, sending the case back to the district court. Hsu’s latest ruling leaves the question of whether the songs were independently created or unlawfully copied for a jury to decide, putting the long-running dispute on course for trial.

Macklemore has announced a new “Free Palestine” tour featuring live performances with musicians and friends, with proceeds supporting humanitarian organizations working with Palestinian communities. The announcement comes after the rapper, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, was removed from Ed Sheeran’s U.S. stadium tour following a September 4 onstage statement supporting a “free Palestine” and expressing solidarity with people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The controversy reportedly led some venue owners to refuse concerts featuring Macklemore. In an Instagram statement announcing the tour, Macklemore said recent events demonstrated a shift in how artists and audiences view political expression onstage. He argued that artists should use their platforms to address issues beyond entertainment and criticized what he described as efforts to silence calls for Palestinian liberation. Sheeran, meanwhile, addressed his own involvement in the controversy during his solo return to the stage in Philadelphia on September 19, telling the audience that he had been placed in the middle of a broader debate over freedom of speech and the conflict. The “Free Palestine” tour is scheduled to begin in Dublin on October 26, followed by performances in Paris on October 29 and London on October 30, with North American dates expected to be announced later. Beneficiary organizations include Anera, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Heal Palestine, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, UNRWA USA and others involved in medical care, humanitarian assistance, education and community support. Macklemore said additional details and the tour lineup are still being finalized, while fans can sign up for presale access through his website.