Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has lost his honorary degree from Howard University as he continues to face wide backlash for assaulting his former girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura. The Howard University Board of Trustees unanimously voted to rescind the recognition and remove Combs’ name from any document listing honorary degree recipients at the school, Deadline reported.
“This acceptance revokes all honors and privileges associated with the degree,” the board said in a statement, per Deadline.
Howard University’s decision comes shortly after a 2016 surveillance footage, which became public in May, showed Combs assaulting Ventura in a hotel.
“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 school stated, per People. “The University is unwavering in its opposition to all acts of interpersonal violence.”
Howard is also canceling a 2016 gift agreement with Combs. Additionally, the university is revoking a scholarship program named after the artist, returning a $1 million gift he gave to the school and canceling a pledge agreement made with the Sean Combs Foundation in 2023.
“No payments toward the $1 million pledge have been due or made by the Sean Combs Foundation as of this date,” the school stated.
The graphic video CNN obtained and released on May 20 shows Combs chasing Ventura in the hotel hallway before grabbing her by the neck, kicking her and dragging her no the ground. The clip also shows Combs throwing an object at Ventura, who later released a statement on social media.
“Domestic Violence is THE issue,” she wrote on Instagram. “It broke me down to someone I never thought I would become. With a lot of hard work, I am better today, but I will always be recovering from the past.”
View this post on Instagram
In November, Ventura settled a lawsuit she filed against Combs. The singer said in her lawsuit that Combs raped and sex trafficked her during their 10 years together.
“After years in silence and darkness, I am finally ready to tell my story, and to speak up on behalf of myself and for the benefit of other women who face violence and abuse in their relationships,” she said in a statement, per PEOPLE. “With the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act fast approaching, it became clear that this was an opportunity to speak up about the trauma I have experienced and that I will be recovering from for the rest of my life.”
