NYC Mayor Adams still looking into revoking Sean 'Diddy' Combs key to the city amid accusations
NEW YORK — As investigators reportedly prepare to bring Sean “Diddy” Combs’ accusers before a federal grand jury, Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday that his team is still “in the process of looking into” taking back the key to the city he gave to the embattled rap impresario.
Since the mayor bestowed that honor on the music mogul last September, Combs was shown in a recently released video tape beating a former girlfriend in a 2016 altercation and has been accused of sexual assault in several lawsuits.
“That video, as you saw, was really, really painful to watch,” Adams said on 94.7’s “Jonesy in the Morning” show. “As a person who has two sisters, you know, I was really troubled by it.”
When asked about taking the key to the city back from Combs, the mayor responded that “we’ve never done that before,” but that he’s talked to his team “about what the next steps are.”
“We’ll make a formal announcement once that’s determined,” Adams said.
“If all else fails, just change the locks,” quipped the show’s host, Tarsha Jones, prompting laughter from the mayor.
Earlier Wednesday, CNN reported that federal investigators are getting Combs’ accusers ready to go before a grand jury — an indication that they’re potentially seeking a criminal indictment of the Bad Boy Records founder and former Notorious B.I.G. hypeman.
Federal investigators raided Combs’ homes in Los Angeles and Miami in March as part of sex trafficking probe.
In one civil lawsuit against him in Manhattan Federal Court, former model Crystal McKinney accused Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2003 when she was 22.
According to that suit, Combs allegedly coaxed McKinney into smoking laced marijuana and then led her to a bathroom where he forced her to perform oral sex. The suit goes on to note that McKinney saved the unwashed clothing she wore that night, keeping it in a closet “where it remains in a plastic wrap.”
Mayor Adams and his administration have been deliberating on whether to rescind Combs’ key to the city for at least a week. Last week, after video surfaced of Combs beating ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, Adams said during a City Hall press conference that “we are looking into next steps,” but noted that rescinding a key to the city would “set precedent and we want to make sure we’re going to do it right.”
“There’s a process. There’s a panel. They’re going to look over it. They’re going to make a recommendation to me and we’re going to take the next steps,” Adams said at the time.
“All of us are disgusted at the video, of seeing something of that magnitude. We want to take the process. We’ve never removed the key from anyone before. We want to make sure we do it right.”
