Russell Simmons is being sued by a former music video producer for allegedly raping her in the 1990s.
Russell Simmons is being sued by a former music video producer for allegedly raping her in the 1990s
The Def Jam Recordings co-founder, 66, is accused of the attack in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday (13.02.24) by a woman named in the documents only as Jane Doe.
She says Russell pinned her down on his bed and raped her when she visited his Manhattan apartment to get his approval for a rough cut of a video.
According to Variety, her suit says: “Ms Doe rejected his advance and told him to ‘get off’ and ‘stop’ several times.
“She told him she was ‘serious’ and she ‘meant it.’
“But Ms Doe was forcefully pinned, could not move under his weight and Mr Simmons would not listen to her.”
Russell fled to Bali in 2017 after being accused of rape and sexual misconduct by multiple women and was the subject of a 2020 documentary that focused on the allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against the hip-hop mogul – all of which he denies, saying his relationships have been “consensual”.
Jane Doe added she noticed a familiar pattern in her alleged rape to what other women had allegedly experienced with Russell
Her suit says: “When Ms Doe learned about the accounts of the other survivors, she was struck by how similar they were to her own horrible experience at the hands of Mr Simmons.”
Jane Doe also states Russell sexually harassed her in her office at work before the alleged rape.
Her lawyers – Kenya Davis and Sigrid McCawley – told Variety their client’s career was on the rise before she was allegedly targeted by Russell.
They added: “She was proud of her contributions to the burgeoning musical genre of hip hop, but her hard work and her career in music was disrupted and derailed by Mr Simmons, a rich and powerful celebrity whose wealth and influence allowed his abusive behaviour to go unchallenged for decades.
“Now a successful writer and producer in the entertainment industry, Jane Doe’s traumatic experiences with Simmons echo those of so many other women who he has preyed upon for decades.”
Since the alleged rape took place, Jane Doe claims she left her job at Def Jam Records and is afflicted by dissociation, depression and anxiety.
She also claimed that she ran into Simmons in March 2023 at a yoga class and was instantly “horrified” when she heard him say her name.
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