A federal court has officially closed the long-running paternity dispute involving Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Rymir Satterthwaite, bringing an end to more than a decade of litigation tied to allegations that the hip-hop mogul is Satterthwaite’s biological father.
On Jan. 15, 2026, a federal judge entered a final order dismissing all remaining claims with prejudice and awarded Jay-Z approximately $120,000 in attorneys’ fees under California’s anti-SLAPP law, which is intended to curb lawsuits deemed frivolous or harassing. The ruling effectively bars any future paternity-related claims by Satterthwaite.
The case dates back to June 2010, when Satterthwaite’s mother, Wanda Satterthwaite, filed a paternity suit in New Jersey naming Jay-Z as the father. That case was dismissed in 2012 after the court found it was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. Following Wanda Satterthwaite’s death in the mid-2010s, her friend Dr. Lillie Coley became Rymir’s legal guardian and continued pursuing the claim.
In 2022, a New Jersey judge barred Satterthwaite and Coley from filing any new paternity actions without prior court approval. Despite that restriction, Satterthwaite filed a federal lawsuit in California in May 2025 seeking a DNA test and a declaration of paternity. He alleged Jay-Z had refused to submit to testing and attempted to silence him through legal filings.
Jay-Z’s attorneys denied the allegations, calling them “fabricated” and part of what they described as a decades-long campaign of harassment. In July 2025, Satterthwaite voluntarily withdrew the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
Around the same time, Coley filed her own federal lawsuit in California, accusing Jay-Z of fraud and misconduct related to court filings and liens. Jay-Z’s legal team moved to dismiss the case, and in November 202,5 a judge ruled in the rapper’s favor, dismissing the complaint with prejudice under California’s anti-SLAPP statute. The court rejected Coley’s attempt to amend or revive the claims.
The January 2026 order formally closed the litigation, with entertainment outlets noting that the court found no legal standing for the allegations and that Coley “shall take nothing” from Jay-Z.
Throughout the proceedings, Jay-Z has consistently denied paternity. No court-ordered DNA test involving Jay-Z was ever conducted. While a 2010 test ruled out another potential father, Jay-Z never submitted to genetic testing, and the courts ultimately dismissed the claims without requiring one.
The case also drew public attention after Nicki Minaj publicly supported Satterthwaite on social media in 2024 and 2025. Minaj criticized Jay-Z in a series of posts, accusing him of trying to silence Satterthwaite. She was not involved in the litigation and did not file any legal claims.
With all lawsuits dismissed with prejudice and attorneys’ fees awarded to Jay-Z, the courts have now definitively closed the chapter on the long-running paternity dispute.
