Sean “Diddy” Combs returned his key to New York City last week following a request from Mayor Eric Adams after the release of a 2016 video that showed the music mogul attacking his ex-girlfriend, Cassie.
Adam’s office requested the key’s return on June 4, following the video’s release in May. A letter from the mayor obtained by AP News noted he was “deeply disturbed” by the attack and added, “I strongly condemn these actions and stand in solidarity with all survivors of domestic and gender-based violence.”
The city received the key on June 10, the mayor’s office confirmed to AP News on Saturday.
The video, first released May 17, showed Diddy running out of a hotel room in a towel and chasing his ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, toward the elevator. He grabbed her by the back of the neck and threw her on the floor, kicked her, shoved her and dragged her by her sweatshirt. Later in the footage, he returned to kick her again, and then threw an object from a nearby table at her.
Following the video’s release, Howard University rescinded Combs’ honorary degree, saying in a statement that Combs’ behavior had been “so fundamentally incompatible with Howard University’s core values and beliefs that he is deemed no longer worthy to hold the institution’s highest honor. The University is unwavering in its opposition to all acts of interpersonal violence.”
Combs apologized on social media shortly after the video resurfaced, saying, “It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that… I was fucked up — I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”
He also said he took “full responsibility for my actions in that video” and that he “was disgusted then when I did it” and “I’m disgusted now.”
Combs and Ventura were romantically linked for over a decade. Last November, she accused him of repeatedly raping and physically abusing her during the course of their relationship. The lawsuit, which also named Combs’ label, Bad Boy Records, and Sony Music, claimed that Ventura was “trapped by Mr. Combs in a cycle of abuse, violence and sex trafficking.”
They settled the case shortly after the filing, but Combs has since faced multiple new lawsuits this year, accusing him of rape, sexual assault and sex trafficking. He has denied all of the allegations. In March, his Miami and Los Angeles homes were raided by Homeland Security.