NYC mayor considering rescinding Diddy's 'Key to the City' after video of alleged hotel beating goes viral
Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs could have his NYC "Key to the City" award taken back after a video shows him assaulting a woman.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said his administration was "taking everything under analysis" when asked if he would rescind the Key to the City awarded to Sean "Diddy" Combs amid abuse allegations.
Combs was presented the key on Sept. 15, 2023, the same day that he released his first studio album in 17 years, Fox New York reported. He has since apologized after a video went viral showing him beating his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a Los Angeles hotel during a 2016 altercation.
"It's so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life. Sometimes you got to do that. I was f----- up. I mean I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable," he said in a self-recorded message last week.
In a Monday interview with WPIX-TV, Adams said he was "deeply disturbed" when he saw the video.
"The committee and the team has never rescinded a key before, but we are now sitting down to see what the next steps forward are going to be," he said. "We are taking everything under analysis and the team will come back to me with a final determination."
SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTS EX-GIRLFRIEND CASSIE VENTURA IN NEWLY RELEASED HOTEL VIDEO
The Key to the City is presented to various people "whose service to the public and the common good rises to the highest level of achievement," according to the city's website.
Other recipients include the 1969 New York "Miracle" Mets, which received the award in 2019, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team and New York Police Det. Luis Alvarez, who was posthumously awarded for his advocacy for 9/11 survivors and first responders.
The video, obtained exclusively by CNN, shows Combs running down a hallway only wearing a towel around his waist and socks. When he reaches the elevators, he can be seen throwing a woman, presumably Ventura, to the ground. He appears to kick her twice before dragging her out of the camera's view.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office issued a statement confirming that Combs cannot be prosecuted based on these allegations due to the statute of limitations.
Fox News Digital's Caroline Thayer and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.