Sean “Diddy” Combs has reportedly returned his symbolic “key” to New York City at the request of Mayor Eric Adams. In a letter written to the embattled Hip-Hop mogul, Adams noted how “deeply disturbed” he was seeing the video of Diddy assaulting Cassie Ventura.
He continued, “I strongly condemn these actions and stand in solidarity with all survivors of domestic and gender-based violence. Our city has worked tirelessly to make sure survivors are heard and seen by our administration. The Key to the City of New York is presented to individuals whose service to the public and the common good rises to the highest level of achievement, and who act as a model for fellow and future New Yorkers.
“After internal deliberations, the Key to the City of New York committee recommended nullifying and rescinding Mr. Combs’ Key. I have accepted their recommendation, and am requesting that Mr. Combs immediately return his Key to the City to New York City Hall, Office of the Mayor.”
TMZ reports the letter was fired off on June 4 and Diddy returned the key on June 10. Last month, Mayor Adams said a revocation was under consideration in an interview with PIX11 News.
“I think all of us were deeply disturbed by watching that chilling video of the young lady being assaulted by him,” Adams told the outlet. “The committee and the team — we’ve never rescinded a key before — but we are now sitting down to see what the next steps forward are going to be.”
Diddy received the key to the city in September 2023, just a few months before Ventura sued him for sexual and physical assault. Ventura’s lawsuit detailed an incident in which the Bad Boy Records founder assaulted her at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. CNN released surveillance footage from the hotel on May 17, corroborating her allegations.
Diddy responded to the assault video by apologizing in an Instagram post. He claimed to be “truly sorry.”
“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” he said on Instagram. “I was f##### up. I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.”
Ventura’s lawyer later criticized Diddy’s apology, calling it “disingenuous” and full of “pathetic desperation.”
Diddy and Ventura settled her lawsuit out of court in November 2023, causing a flood of similar allegations by multiple women. The feds raided his homes as part of a sex trafficking investigation in March.