San Diego State University looks into ‘Diddy’ Halloween costume with blackface, baby oil

The university said in a statement that the young adults wearing the costumes have not been confirmed as students. The video that shows the costumes has since been taken down.

San Diego State University is looking into a video depicting a young white man dressed as Sean “Diddy” Combs using blackface and a young woman dressed as a bottle of baby oil.

The Diddy costume surfaced in a TikTok video that featured a slideshow of couples costumes from a Halloween party. One of the photos depicted the young, white man dressed as “P. Diddy” with dark-colored makeup on his face.

The costume is a reference to Combs’ alleged “freak offs” − parties at his Los Angeles home at the center of his federal indictment on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. Investigators say they found more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.

Diddy’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo, has told TMZ that his client will testify at trial and that “he has his story.”

The original video depicting the blackface Diddy costume is no longer on TikTok and the account that posted has been taken down, but screenshots of the video continue to circulate online.

The woman who shared the original video was affiliated with San Diego State University, screenshots shared on TikTok show.

Do the people in the video attend San Diego State University?

In a statement posted on Monday, San Diego State University reported that the university received confirmation that the woman who posted the video on TikTok is not one of the people featured in the video.

“In situations such as these, we must affirm that misinformation is harmful and threats of violence are reprehensible and have no place within our society,” the statement reads. “Also, as we shared before: The individuals photographed are not confirmed SDSU students, and our team is working to collect additional information, to include the location and the names and affiliations of any of the individuals involved.”

In a separate statement made on Monday, the university shared that images portrayed in the video do not align with its values.

“The use of blackface and any actions making light of sexual assault are deeply offensive and have no place in our community,” the statement reads. “Any behavior that stereotypes or harms individuals based on race or ethnicity, or trivializes sexual assault, contradicts our university values and undermines our commitment to inclusion and belonging for students, faculty and staff.”

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com.