Diddy tries to start over
Sean "Diddy" Combs deleted all of his Instagram posts.
As of Tuesday morning, June 18, all postings had been removed from the channel, including the music mogul's May 19 apology video for beating his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.
Combs tweeted his apologetic video after CNN aired hotel surveillance footage showing him kicking and dragging Ventura down a hallway at the InterContinental Hotel on March 5, 2016.
After receiving tremendous outrage, the Bad Boy Records founder posted an apology video to Instagram, telling his 19 million followers that he was "fu-ed up" and had reached "rock bottom" when he attacked Ventura. He stated that he went to treatment and rehab following the incident.
An attorney for Ventura called Combs’ apology a sign of “desperation.”
Ventura filed a 35-page civil case against Combs in November 2023, claiming rape, sexual abuse, and human trafficking. The troubled music mogul resolved the lawsuit after one day. Although one of his legal representatives stated that the deal was in no way an acknowledgment of wrongdoing.
Since then, Combs has faced at least six additional lawsuits alleging sexual abuse, increasing the total to seven. He's maintained his innocence.
"That is enough. "For the last few weeks, I've sat silently and watched people try to assassinate my character, destroy my reputation, and my legacy," he said in a message posted in December to his now-deleted Instagram feed.
An eighth complaint accused the billionaire of aiding and abetting his son Christian Combs, 26, who is accused of sexually assaulting a yacht stewardess aboard a boat rented by his father for a New Year's Eve celebration in December 2022. Both Diddy and Christian refuted the woman's claims.
Homeland security authorities raided Diddy's houses in Los Angeles and Miami on March 25 as part of a federal investigation into alleged sex trafficking.
CNN claimed in May that the Department of Justice had widened its probe to include "money laundering and illegal drugs." According to the site, federal investigators have interviewed "the majority of the plaintiffs" who filed lawsuits against Combs, and prosecutors are crafting a "bulletproof" indictment.
Despite the backlash, Combs returned his symbolic key to New York City on June 10, following a strongly worded letter from Mayor Eric Adams.
Also this month, Howard University canceled the mogul's honorary degree from 2014 and returned a $1 million donation he provided to the HBCU. The school also announced the termination of a scholarship program named after the entrepreneur, as well as a $1 million pledge deal with the Sean Combs Foundation for 2023.
Revolt TV, a multi-media firm and cable network launched by Combs in 2013, dissolved all links with him, stating that his "shares have been redeemed and retired."
In December, Hulu paused production on the reality show Diddy+7, which follows the entrepreneur and his seven children.
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