Source: Sharif Ziyadat/Getty
Howard University has announced it is rescinding the honorary degree it awarded Sean “Diddy” Combs in 2014. The decision comes after video surfaced in May of the disgraced hip-hop mogul hitting his ex-girlfriend and Bad Boy artist Cassie Ventura. in a hotel lobby in 2016.
On Friday, June 7, The Howard University Board of Trustees announced that he decided to rescind Combs' honorary degree and return the $1 million the former student had promised the school (he never actually graduated).
“The Board of Trustees of Howard University voted unanimously today to accept Mr. Sean Combs' return of the honorary degree he was awarded in 2014,” said an official statement from the Howard Board of Trustees. “This acceptance revokes all honors and privileges associated with the degree.”
Also, HU essentially eliminates any connection to Diddy, who attended the HBCU in the early '90s before dropping out to pursue a career in the music business full-time.
The statement continued, “Accordingly, the board has directed that his name be removed from all documents listing Howard University honorary degree recipients. Mr. Combs' behavior, as captured in a recently released video, is so fundamentally inconsistent with Howard University's core values and beliefs that he is no longer deemed worthy of the institution's highest honor.”
Interestingly, although Diddy originally pledged the $1 million donation in 2016, the Board's statement reveals that no payments have been made by him or the Sean Combs Foundation to date. So no money to go back (based on 2023 deal). The scholarship program established in Combs' name will also be eliminated.
Deedy, who always spoke fondly of his time as an undergraduate, was the commencement speaker at Howard in 2014 when he received his honorary degree.
Howard is just the latest entity to cut ties with Diddy. Others include Revolt, the media company he founded, and Hulu, which axed a reality series about his family.