Multiple women have stepped forward and accused Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct, but the media mogul has adamantly denied that he engaged in any inappropriate behavior. An anonymous woman only identified as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against Simmons in March 2018. She claims that she was with her son at a rap concert when Simmons approached her and invited her backstage. She says she later attended an afterparty at a nightclub and it was there that Simmons allegedly asked if she would accompany him to a hotel room. She states he told her he had to leave because he had to get something out of the room. While there, she claims he threatened her, pushed her on the bed, and forcibly sexually assaulted her.
Jane Doe initially didn't include a date when the incident occurred, but later stated in documents that it was some time in 1988. She is suing for $10 million. Simmons denied ever assaulting the woman and his lawyer, Patricia Glaser, has been petitioning the court to toss out the suit because the two-year statute of limitations had expired. Attorneys for both sides have been fighting tooth and nail, but it looks as if they will see each other in court on August 15.
In a sworn statement to the court, The Hollywood Reporter states Simmons has made the following declaration under penalty of perjury in a civil suit: "I am horrified at the false allegations made against me in the Complaint. I do not know and I have never heard of Plaintiff. Her allegation that I committed sexual battery and threatened to rape her son is absurd, shameful, and untrue. I have never had non-consensual sex with Plaintiff or anyone else."
In a motion for summary judgment, Glaser calls Jane Doe's accusation "false and salacious fiction... nothing more than a calculated scheme by Plaintiff to tell a lie so big and so scandalous that it would attract news coverage (as it has) in the hopes that Mr. Simmons would pay her money to make it disappear (as he has not, and will not)."
Simmons also makes a case in his motion that Jane Doe in the past has pleaded guilty to prostitution and has filed bankruptcy. "In short, Plaintiff has no corroboration or credibility in what we believe to be an effort to publicly extort Mr. Simmons," writes Glaser. Jane Doe has accused Simmons of moving to Indonesia to avoid prosecution as it is a country with no extradition treaty with the United States.
The Def JAm co-founder previously provided us with a statement that reads: "The anonymous accuser’s assertion that Mr. Simmons is hiding out in Bali, a country that does not have any extradition treaty with the United States, is false, as are her other accusations against Mr. Simmons, which she claims took place 31 years ago. Likewise, the accusation that Mr. Simmons has traveled to Bali many times over the years, but in the midst of multiple accusations last year, has not yet returned is also false. The fact is Mr. Simmons has been in and out of the United States six times in the last year and will be back for his child’s graduation. The accuser, who has been convicted of a crime, is hoping to hit the lottery in this case, asking at least $10 million based on these false allegations."
