Beyoncé and Jay-Z have been officially dropped from a sensational lawsuit filed against Sean "Diddy" Combs, after the plaintiff, Manzaro Joseph, amended his initial claims and retracted an explosive story involving the music power couple.
Joseph, who earlier this month accused Diddy of drugging and humiliating him during a 2015 birthday party for Diddy's son, King Combs, had initially claimed that Beyoncé and Jay-Z witnessed him in a compromised state, wearing a sexually explicit mask. In the original filing, Joseph alleged that Beyoncé reacted with shock, questioning why a "half-naked white man with a c**k mask" was standing in front of her.
However, in newly amended court documents, Joseph has scrubbed all references to Beyoncé and Jay-Z from his allegations. The lawsuit continues to target Diddy and other figures, including music producer Emilio Estefan, but makes no mention of the Carters.
Sources familiar with the matter told TMZ that the retraction came after Jay-Z’s attorney, Alex Spiro, contacted Joseph’s legal team. Spiro reportedly presented evidence proving that Jay-Z and Beyoncé were not in Miami at the time of the alleged incident. The implication was clear: pursue the false claim, and face legal consequences.
This marks the second instance in recent weeks where Jay-Z’s name has been cleared in connection with legal actions involving Diddy. A separate lawsuit, filed by a Jane Doe accusing the two moguls of sexual assault in 2000, was quietly dismissed last month.
Despite the removal of the high-profile names, Joseph is pressing ahead with his lawsuit against Diddy and others, seeking damages for what he describes as a traumatic and degrading experience.