Mayor Eric Adams demanded that Sean “Diddy” Combs return New York’s Key to the City earlier this month after a video surfaced that appeared to show Combs physically abusing his ex-girlfriend Cassie in 2016.
Combs was first given the key by Adams in September.
Combs was seen assaulting Cassie in a hotel hallway on security footage that was retrieved; this incident corresponded with the details Cassie had provided in a November federal lawsuit.
In the March 2016 video, Combs was seen approaching an elevator from behind, seizing a woman, and hurling her to the ground. He seemed to pull the woman by her sweater and kick her twice.
Adams expressed his “deep dismay” over the attack video in a letter to the musician’s public relations officer.
“I strongly condemn these actions and stand in solidarity with all survivors of domestic and gender-based violence,” Adams stated. “Our city has worked tirelessly to make sure survivors are heard and seen by our administration.”
The letter was mailed on June 4 to Combs’ residences in New York City and Los Angeles, as per the mayor’s office. Six days later, the city received the key back.
Five lawsuits in New York have been filed against Combs since November, alleging he has engaged in sexual assault, trafficking in sex, and other criminal activities. Combs has called the accusations “sickening” and rejected all of them.
Cassie claimed in her lawsuit that during their relationship, Combs had sexually assaulted her and physically mistreated her, hitting, beating, kicking, and stomping her. The day after the case was filed, it was settled. Through his attorney, Combs “vehemently” refuted the accusations at the time.
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After that, he issued a video apology, claiming that his actions on the hotel camera were “inexcusable.”
Guns were discovered during federal investigators’ searches of Combs’ residences in March, and his phones were taken from him at an airport as part of a warrant that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York had issued, according to law enforcement sources at the time.
