Entertainment
Howard University revokes Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ honorary degree, returns $1 million donation following abuse video
The hits keep coming for Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Howard University announced Friday that it would be revoking the disgraced mogul’s honorary degree and cutting all financial ties with him.
“The Howard University Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to accept the return by Mr. Sean Combs of the honorary degree conferred upon him in 2014,” a spokesperson for the board said in a statement.
“This acceptance revokes all honors and privileges associated with the degree. Accordingly, the Board has directed that his name be removed from all documents listing honorary degree recipients of Howard University.”
The spokesperson went on to say that the board directed the university administration to “immediately terminate a 2016 gift agreement with Mr. Combs, disband the scholarship program in his name, return his $1 million contribution, and terminate a 2023 pledge agreement with the Sean Combs Foundation.”
However, the spokesperson noted that “no payments toward the $1 million pledge have been due or made by the Sean Combs Foundation as of this date, therefore no funds are due to be returned under the 2023 pledge agreement.”
As for the university’s reasoning, the spokesperson explained that “Mr. Combs’ behavior as captured in a recently released video is so fundamentally incompatible with Howard University’s core values and beliefs that he is deemed no longer worthy to hold the institution’s highest honor.
“The University is unwavering in its opposition to all acts of interpersonal violence.”
Last month, CNN released a video showing Combs, 54, brutally assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
Surveillance footage showed the rapper chasing the singer out of a hotel room, grabbing her by the back of the neck, throwing her to the floor, kicking her twice and dragging her back to the room.
He was later seen forcefully throwing an object toward her.
The video corroborated some of the allegations Ventura, 37, made against Combs in a November 2023 lawsuit, which cited physical and sexual abuse over the course of their 10-year relationship.
Ventura — who reached an undisclosed settlement with the father of seven shortly after she filed her suit — described the altercation mentioned above in the complaint, claiming it occurred after her “extremely intoxicated” then-boyfriend “punched [her] in the face, giving her a black eye.”
Two days after the footage made headlines, Combs — who initially called the songstress’ claims false — released an apology video in which he explained that he was “f–ked up” when the “inexcusable” incident occurred.
He went on to insist that he was “disgusted” with himself both “then” and “now,” claiming, “I went and I sought out professional help, started going to therapy and rehab, had to ask God for his mercy and grace.”
Ventura, for her part, lamented that “domestic violence … broke [her] down to someone [she] never thought [she] would become” and thanked the public for the “outpouring of love.”
She assured her fans she was on a “healing journey” but that it was a “never-ending” one.
Meanwhile, the LA County District Attorney’s Office has explained that it cannot bring charges against Combs over the “extremely disturbing” contents of the video due to the statute of limitations.
The music producer is being sued by six other people for similar claims, all of which he has denied.
He is also at the center of a federal sex trafficking investigation; both his LA and Miami homes were raided by Homeland Security in March.
Still, he has not been charged with a crime.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
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