Sean “Diddy” Combs has returned New York’s Key to the City after Mayor Eric Adams requested it back earlier this month following the circulation of a video showing Diddy physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie in 2016.
Diddy was initially awarded the key by Adams in September 2023.
Security video obtained by CNN appeared to show Combs attacking Cassie in a hotel hallway, matching an incident that she had detailed in a federal lawsuit in November.
The footage, from March 2016, showed Combs walking behind a woman near an elevator, grabbing her and throwing her onto the ground. He appeared to kick the woman twice and drag her by her sweatshirt.
In a letter addressed to a communications representative for the musician, Adams said he “was deeply disturbed” by the assault footage.
“I strongly condemn these actions and stand in solidarity with all survivors of domestic and gender-based violence,” Adams wrote. “Our city has worked tirelessly to make sure survivors are heard and seen by our administration.”
The letter was sent to addresses for Diddy in Los Angeles and New York City on June 4, according to the mayor’s office. The key was returned to the city six days later.
Diddy has been hit with a wave of civil lawsuits in recent months and is now the subject of a federal investigation, sources have told NBC News.
Since November, Combs has been hit with five lawsuits in New York accusing him of sexual assault, sexual trafficking and engaging in other criminal activity. Combs has denied all of the allegations, calling them sickening.
Cassie alleged in her suit that Combs raped and physically abused her, including by punching, beating, kicking and stomping her over the course of their relationship. The lawsuit was settled the day after it was filed. Combs at the time “vehemently” denied the allegations through his lawyer.
He then released a video apology in response to the hotel footage, saying his “behavior on that video is inexcusable.”
In March, federal agents executed searches of Combs’ properties, where guns were found, and his phones were seized at an airport as part of a warrant issued from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, law enforcement sources said at the time.
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