Another woman has shared her story of being sexually harassed by Russell Simmons totally his accusers to at least 13 women. Real Housewives of New York star Luann de Lesseps recently added her name to list when chatting with The Daily Beast, detailing her last encounter with Russell.
“He grabbed my ass in an elevator, he was just a pig,” the 52-year-old recalled. “I haven’t told anybody about that before. I was grossed out. I was like ‘How dare you?’ He invaded me, he took advantage of me, being who he is, thinking he is all ‘it,’ all everything. He thought he could just do that. I looked at him and said, ‘Don’t ever do that again.’”
She said the incident happened at the Soho House Miami three years ago and she never reported it and Russell never apologized.
The former Def Jam CEO continues to deny any wrongdoing and has stated that these numerous accusations have left him “devastated.”
“They have shocked me to my core as I have never been abusive or violent in any way in my relations with women. I am blessed to have shared extraordinary relationships, whether through work or love, with many great women, and I have enormous respect for the women’s movement worldwide and their struggle for respect, dignity, equality and power,” he said. “I am devastated by any reason I may have given to anyone to say or think of me in the ways that are currently being described.”