Russell Simmons' alleged rape victim, who identified only as Jane Doe in her lawsuit against the Def Jam Recordings founder, is accusing him of "running from the court’s jurisdiction to avoid taking accountability for his actions" by moving to Bali, Indonesia. She made the accusation in a new filing obtained by Rolling Stone, in response to his argument that he can't be sued as he's a “stateless” U.S. citizen who’s technically “retired” in Indonesia.
Jane Doe brought up Simmons' “limited” remote deposition in her case on September 26, arguing that he’s still actively working and maintains ties to New York through a Manhattan apartment and office space he allegedly pays for. “Defendant has presented self-serving declarations, incomplete screenshots of unverified scanned documents, and cherry-picked references from his limited remote deposition,” Doe’s lawyers wrote, as caught by AllHipHop. “But the limited discovery of Defendant taken so far demonstrates Defendant’s pattern of making inconsistent statements as to his citizenship as he sees fit, especially when examined in the context of his many public statements and overall course of conduct."
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Doe's lawyers also referenced an interview Simmons did with AllHipHop in which he said: “People saying that I somehow can’t come home when I’m there all the time wears on you. It wears on me after a while to keep hearing the same narrative, which is false. I’m always in L.A., I’m always in New York and Miami. And I’ve never had any reason to feel unsafe in America.”
Jane Doe is a former Def Jam employee who alleged in her lawsuit that Simmons pulled a “wrestling move” to rape her in his New York apartment in the mid-1990s. She also claims to be among 20 women who have made sexual misconduct allegations against Simmons. He's denied any wrongdoing several times over the years. Be on the lookout for further updates on Russell Simmons on HotNewHipHop.