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Howard University rescinded the honorary degree it awarded hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and cut ties with him weeks after a recently released 2016 video appeared to show him attacking R&B singer and ex-girlfriend, Cassie.
The university’s Board of Trustees said it also directed administrators to cut financial ties to Combs, including returning a $1 million contribution, ending the scholarship program and dissolving a 2023 pledge agreement with the Sean Combs Foundation.
“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,” a statement said.
The statement said the board voted unanimously Friday to accept the return of the honorary degree Combs received in 2014.
“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,” it said.
An email seeking comment was sent to a Combs spokesperson by The Associated Press on Saturday.
Last month, CNN released a video of the 2016 attack in a Los Angeles hotel hallway. In a video statement posted on social media, Combs admitted to beating Cassie and said that he was “truly sorry” for his “inexcusable” actions.
“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video,” Combs said. “I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now. I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”
The video was the latest in a months-long series of public allegations and revelations of physical and sexual violence against Combs.
A lawsuit filed last year by Cassie, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, described an incident at an InterContinental Hotel in the Century City area of Los Angeles. In it, she also alleged years of sexual abuse and other violence from Combs. That lawsuit was settled.
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