Russell Simmons is currently facing several lawsuits. He’s been accused of many crimes, including SA. These accusations have been around for almost his entire career.
The first major allegations that caught the attention of the media happened in 2017. According to Forbes, Jenny Lumet and a model who was 17 years old claimed that Russell had committed SA against them several years earlier.
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Jenny is a screenwriter who has credits in movies like The Mummy and Rachel Getting Married. She wrote a letter to The Hollywood Reporter in response to a quote that Russell had made about never knowingly hurting someone.
In the letter, she described her horrific experience of SA from Russell. She said that she had known him for some time because they worked in the same circle.
One night, after she ate at a restaurant, she bumped into him outside. He told her he’d give her a ride. She accepted the ride since she had no reason to fear him.
Russel Stepped Away From His Business
Russell had made advances before, even sending her 250 balloons once, but he had never made her feel uncomfortable, until that night. Once she was in the car, she told the driver her address, but Russell told the driver no. They were going to his apartment instead.
Jenny felt terrified when she heard the door locks click in place, and she was in a car with two men. She didn’t know if the driver was a friend to her since he seemed to do everything that Russell told him.
Jenny was brought to his apartment and taken to his bedroom. She was so worried about surviving that she just did what he told her to do.
Russell eventually let her go home. She kept her story a secret for a long time because she was afraid of what might happen if she spoke about it.
When the allegations did finally come out, Russell took them seriously, although he never admitted that they were true. He chose to step down from his businesses and commit to spiritual healing.
Russel’s Inappropriate Behavior Was Common
More women also accused him of SA even after he stepped away from his businesses. One of the most vocal is Drew Dixon.
According to the LA Times, Drew’s work at Def Jam Recordings was a dream come true. She was hired by the label in 1994 when she was 23. She worked as the director of Artists & Repertoire, and through her work, she was able to introduce hit songs to the label.
As the years went on, however, her dream job became a nightmare. Russell had taken notice of her and would allegedly constantly harass her at work.
She claimed that he also created an environment where he encouraged favors of an adult nature for career advancement. Even though she kept telling him she wasn’t interested in him, he would try to touch and kiss her.
Drew talked about one experience when they were at a restaurant, and Russell did something that scared her. He pushed her into a broom closet at the restaurant and tried to kiss her.
This sort of behavior was supposedly common and became even worse. He’d often tell her how much he liked her and would even expose his private parts to her.
This all came to a head in 1995. While she was in the city getting money from an ATM, she bumped into Russell.
She was leaving when he basically ordered her into his car. They drove back to his apartment, where he said he had a CD on which he wanted her opinion.
Drew went to the CD holder while Russell stepped away, but when she opened it, it was completely empty. Fearing the worst, Russell came up to her then, and he was undressed. Drew alleged that he grabbed her from behind and then forced her on his bed.
Russel Damaged Drew’s Reputation
She resigned from Def Jam afterward. If doing this to her wasn’t enough, Russell also ran a smear campaign against her.
When Drew started to speak out about what happened, he called her a liar and said she was just trying to get money out of him. On top of her lawsuit against him for SA, among other things, she’s also suing him for defamation. His words have made it difficult for her to advance in her career.
But Drew isn’t the only brave woman coming forward with her story about how Russell has hurt her. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this woman, who is going by Jane Doe, was also harmed by Russell 25 years ago.
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The story is pretty similar, too, suggesting that Russell has a certain pattern of behavior. Jane also worked at a label with Russell as a senior music executive and video producer. Her career also stalled because she wouldn’t give in to Russell’s advances.
Much like Drew, Jane received an invitation from Russell to watch and approve of a new music video at his apartment. She went, and when she got there, Russell started to wrestle with her playfully.
As you might imagine, the wrestling became more physical until she found herself pinned underneath him. She kept telling Russell to stop and get off her, but he didn’t listen.
Jane Doe Also Resigned Following Her Assault
Jane said that the experience made her develop panic attacks. She started to struggle to do her job because she also developed anxiety and depression.
Russell didn’t stop his torment of her either. After the SA, he’d come into her office and sit on her desk, making sure to get into her personal space. Then he’d make innuendos and continue to make advances at her.
It became so bad that it even caught the notice of another senior music executive. Whenever they saw Russell bothering Jane, they’d tell him to leave her office.
But the intimidation tactics didn’t stop there. He would also stand in the doorway to keep Jane from being able to leave the room. The treatment became so bad that she ended up resigning, too.
Her lawsuit against Russell includes charges like battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and a violation of New York’s gender-motivated violence law. Russell continues to deny the allegations to this day.
