New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Sean “Diddy” Combs, both recently indicted on federal charges in New York, once sang each other’s praises as Adams presented Combs with a key to the city.
On September 15 of last year, Adams awarded the NYC native media mogul with the key and declared the day “Diddy Day.”
“The bad boy of entertainment is getting the key to the city from the bad boy of politics,” Adams said.
Mayor Eric Adams, left, presenting the Key to the City to hip-hop artist Sean “Diddy” Combs in New York’s Times Square on September 15, 2023.
AP Photo
The event coincided with the release of Combs’ album The Love Album: Off the Grid.
“I’ve got that hustle. I’ve got that resilience,” Combs said. “I’ll never stop, and that’s because I was raised in New York. I want to thank y’all for this honor and just recognizing me being from New York, giving me the key to the city, and the mayor, thank you very much for this key.”
But the celebration was short-lived as Combs’ former girlfriend Cassie Ventura filed a lawsuit against him, describing their relationship as “a cycle of abuse, violence, and sex trafficking.”
Diddy performs at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in a special one night only event at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on November 07, 2023 in London, England. The disgraced rapper will take the stand and attempt to defend himself in court.
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
A video appearing to show Combs physically assaulting her in 2016 was released by CNN in May. In June, Adams sent a letter to Combs’ houses in New York and Los Angeles requesting the return of the key, stating he “was deeply disturbed” by the footage.
“I strongly condemn these actions and stand in solidarity with all survivors of domestic and gender-based violence,” Adams wrote. “Our city has worked tirelessly to make sure survivors are heard and seen by our administration.”
The key was returned to the city six days later. Combs never addressed the return.
Earlier this week, Thalia Graves became the 11th woman to accuse Combs of sexual assault in a lawsuit.
Combs is currently incarcerated at the notoriously rough Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after pleading not guilty to federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
Combs has denied all accusations.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks to the news media on Thursday, September 26, 2024, after he was indicted on federal charges alleging that he took bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources.
AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey
Late Wednesday night, Adams became the first sitting mayor in the city’s history to face criminal charges.
He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals; one count of wire fraud; two counts of solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national; and one count of bribery.
“We are not surprised,” Adams said in a press conference Thursday. “We expected this. This is not surprising to us at all, the actions that have unfolded over the last 10 months, the leaks, the commentary, the demonizing.”
“Based on what I read, if it’s campaign violations, I know I don’t violate the campaigns,” Adams continued, asking the community to wait and hear his side of the story. “If it’s foreign donors, I know I don’t take money from foreign donors, and I verbalize that to the team both in writing and communication, and we will continue to do that.”
Adam said he has no plans to resign as he faces these criminal charges.
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