US university strips rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs of honorary degree

Howard University in Washington DC, United States, has decided to strip rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs of his honorary degree after a CCTV video of him hitting ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura in 2016 was published online. The university said his “behavior captured in a recently released video is so fundamentally incompatible with Howard University’s core values ​​and beliefs that he is no longer considered worthy of receiving the institution’s highest honor,” according to a report in BBC.

“The Howard University Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to accept Mr. Sean Combs’ return of the honorary degree conferred on him in 2014,” 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 recipients of the Howard University honorary degree,” they added.

The university is also returning a $1 million contribution, terminating a 2016 endowment agreement with Combs, a scholarship in his name and a 2023 pledge agreement with the Sean Combs Foundation. Notably, Combs attended Howard University from 1987 to 1989.

The rapper is the target of several civil lawsuits that characterize him as a violent sexual predator who used alcohol and drugs to subdue his victims, and his homes were raided this year by federal agents. The clip shown shows the rap mogul hitting, dragging and kicking Ms. Ventura, who in her recent lawsuit said Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs, as well as a 2018 rape.

Ventura sued Combs in federal court last fall, in a lawsuit that was settled out of court but followed by a series of equally lurid allegations of sexual assault against the hip-hop star, according to AFP.

Combs posted a video on Instagram and said, “My behavior in that video is inexcusable.” He added that he was “disgusted” and “sought professional help” after the incident, including therapy and rehabilitation.

“I’m sorry. I’m committed to being a better man every day,” he said in the video.