When Jay-Z was navigating through a challenging phase in his life last year, his daughter, Blue Ivy, offered the sweetest way to express her support for her dad. The rapper, now 56, spoke with GQ in their latest cover story about a 2024 lawsuit where he was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl 25 years ago alongside Sean "Diddy" Combs. Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, vehemently denied the allegations, and the civil lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed by the accuser with prejudice just a few months after it was filed.
Jay-Z now looks back on learning about the lawsuit just before his now-14-year-old daughter was about to attend the premiere of her movie, Mufasa: The Lion King. "I'm still grappling with that. Because that's a terrible thing to put on someone," the proud dad shared. "It was like it was released the night of my daughter's [movie] premiere."
At the Dec. 9, 2024 premiere in Los Angeles, Jay-Z still joined his wife, Beyoncé, and her mom, Tina Knowles, to support Blue Ivy at her big moment. "Of course that's a question because this is her moment. But our family, we are a tight unit," Jay-Z said about deciding whether or not to attend the premiere. "Blue has this jersey with 'Jay-Z' on the back. She put it on one day."
"She went to school with the 'Jay,'" he continued, pointing to his back. "I was just in the corner, like tears coming down. Seriously. To have that, it's priceless."
"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. And in the darkest moment for me, I got to see those sorts of things," he added.
Alongside Blue Ivy, Jay-Z and Beyoncé are also parents to twins Rumi and Sir, who are 8½ years old.
A woman identified in court docs obtained by PEOPLE as Jane Doe alleged in a December 2024 complaint that Jay-Z and Diddy raped her at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty when she was 13 years old. Though Doe's attorneys voluntarily dismissed the case in February 2025, Jay-Z filed his own lawsuit against Doe and her legal team, Tony Buzbee and David Fortney, a month later.
He sued Doe and her lawyers, alleging malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and civil conspiracy. He also sued Doe separately, alleging defamation. He claimed in his complaint that the initial allegations of rape against him were knowingly "false" and "malicious," and Doe's lawsuit was "strategically and tactically calculated" in an attempt to extort him. On April 22, Doe filed a motion to dismiss Jay-Z's lawsuit, alleging that he "fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted."
