CW: Rape
Russell Simmons has once again been accused of sexual assault by a woman he used to work with, leading us to wonder if he will ever suffer any actual consequences for his alleged actions.
According to Variety, on Tuesday, a former music video producer identified as Jane Doe sued Simmons “alleging that he raped her when she worked for Def Jam Recordings in the late 1990s.”
In the complaint, she details an incident at his Manhattan apartment. While she was there for work purposes, he allegedly used a “wrestling move,” pinned her to his bed and raped her.
“Ms. Doe rejected his advance and told him to ‘get off’ and ‘stop’ several times,” the lawsuit states. “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.”
This is the latest in a long list of women who have accused Simmons of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape. Back in 2017, he faced multiple allegations from several women, leading him to resign from Def Jam, as well as his other business ventures.
In December 2023, while appearing on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger,” he once again denied the allegations, revealing that he’s taken “nine lie detector tests” and that they were “94 percent accurate.”
First of all, nine lie detector tests is excessively and extremely telling. If you need nine tries to get the truth right, we’ve got some serious questions about what you consider the truth. In his denials, Simmons has consistently downplayed the trauma suffered by these women, demonstrating a lack of compassion that Ms. Doe also recounts in the complaint.
Unfortunately, the fact that Simmons is still very wealthy, and seemingly accepted by some in the entertainment industry, means he’s unlikely to see any real consequences for his alleged actions. His name and reputation have been ruined, but there will always be certain people who believe he’s been falsely accused by all these women and is actually the victim.
Though he may not ever truly be held accountable for his alleged behavior, we should never stop applauding these women for the courage to stand in their truth.