On May 17, CNN released shocking video footage of Sean “Diddy” Combs physically attacking his former girlfriend and label artist, Cassie Ventura.
In the video, Combs chases Ventura down the corridor of a hotel. He also dragged her by her hair and repeatedly punched and kicked her. So the leak of the video led to a myriad of backlash for the Bad Boy founder.
Stephen A. Smith Slams Diddy For Deleting Apology
Diddy initially apologized to Cassie in an Instagram video. In the apology, he noted that he was going through a “dark time.” Diddy also notes he was “so disgusted” with himself for his actions. But the Bad Boy Founder recently wiped his Instagram page clean, including the apology video.
ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith is displeased with Combs and the handling of his sexual assault allegations. On Tuesday the analyst tore up Diddy after the rap mogul removed his apology video to Cassie.
Smith took to his podcast to blast Combs for his actions, calling them “foolish.” Smith also speculated about the reasoning behind the removal of the apology video, claiming it would not work in Combs’ favor.
“Delete everything else; not that,” he said. “So you don’t want people to know that you were contrite? That you were incredibly sorry? That you have profound regret for the egregious actions that you were caught on camera committing?”
Smith ended with, “By deleting the video, you throw all of that out the window—the possibility of the very few people that would ever believe that really having a reason to continue to believe you.”
Analyst Makes Strong Statement on Combs
Smith condemned Diddy in May after the 2016 assault video was released, claiming the “career of Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs, as we know it, it’s over.”
“This shit is over,” he added at the time. “It’s over in the worst possible way. … One of the worst possible ways you can imagine.”
Amid the drama, Diddy recently reached an agreement with his former fashion brand owners GBG USA Inc. after dropping his $60 million lawsuit from 2021. He claimed his former brand, Sean John, continued to use his image even after he sold them 90 percent of his stake back in 2016.