New York City Mayor Eric Adams is considering rescinding Sean “Diddy” Combs’ key to the city.
This comes after surveillance video emerged of the rapper assaulting ex-girlfriend and singer Cassie Ventura in 2016, which also corroborated claims she made in a more recent lawsuit.
Adams addressed questions about Diddy’s key to the city in an interview with Pix 11 News.
“I think all of us were deeply disturbed by watching that chilling video of the young lady being assaulted by him,” the mayor said. “The committee and the team have never rescinded a key before, but we are now sitting down to see what the next steps forward are going to be.”
“We are taking everything under analysis and the team will come back with me with a final determination,” he continued.
The music executive was awarded a key to the city in September.
Celebrity
Surveillance video appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs assaulting ex-girlfriend
Combs, who dated Ventura on and off from 2007 to 2018, had previously denied all claims she made against him, which included beatings, provision of drugs like ecstasy and cocaine, forcing her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them, and him raping her in 2018.
But when surveillance footage of Diddy assaulting Ventura in a hotel hallway was made public, the rapper issued an apology.
"My behavior on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I'm disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now,” Combs said in a video posted to social media.
But Ventura’s attorney fired back.
“Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt. When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday. That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words,” Meredith Firetog, partner at Wigdor LLP, said in a statement.
Ventura filed a lawsuit against Combs in November, which was settled a day after it was filed.
The rapper has faced allegations in other lawsuits, including one from a music producer who claimed Combs ran a RICO enterprise set up to acquire and transport drugs, firearms and sex workers — some being minors.
Combs has denied all of the allegations against him in the remaining lawsuits, calling them "sickening.”
