Over the past several weeks, allegations of sexual misconduct have been held against Russell Simmons. While he's denied all of them since, he still stepped down from his position from Def Jam after multiple accusations came about. Today, more allegations against the famed hip hop mogul have surfaced.
The New York Times posted a report that had four women detailing experiences of sexual misconduct from Russell Simmons between the years of 1988 to 2014. Out of the four women, three of them accused Simmons of raping them. Drew Dixon, a former executive for Def Jam, Toni Sallie, a music journalist and Tina Baker, a singer formerly signed to Def Jam have all made these allegations towards Simmons in the Times report.
Dixon said that she was working alongside Simmons at Def Jam in the 1990's. She told them he raped her at his Manhattan apartment in 1995. In addition, she also says Simmons would regularly engage in inappropriate behavior including sexually graphic phone calls, trying to kiss her in the broom closet and exposing his erect penis to her. She would later leave Def Jam after being fed up with the abuse.
“I didn’t want to cut off my one conduit to having any hope of a career,” Dixon said, “I thought if I could survive long enough to have a hit — a real bona fide hit with my name on it — I would move categories,”
Another accuser is Tina Baker, a former artist who was managed by Simmons. She seen her career blossom after working with him but in the early 90's, she said Simmons also raped her. She said he invited her back to his place after running into each other in the club to discuss her career. She obliged without thinking much of it. However, once she arrived she said he started pouring drinks and trying to kiss her but that led to a physical altercation between the two. She said he forced himself on top of her saying "don't fight me," then proceeded to rape her. She said, "I did nothing, I shut my eyes and waited for it to end." Her ex-husband, Arthur Baker as well as her former psychologist and her former roommate confirmed to the New York Times that she told them about the incident.
Toni Sallie said that she met Simmons in 1987 and started seeing him until 1988 before she realized that she wasn't into him. While she said things remained on a positive note, she recalls Simmons inviting her to his place for a party he was hosting for his girlfriend. She says once she arrived to his Manhattan apartment, he was the only one there and led her to his bedroom.
"He pushed me on the bed and jumped on top of me, and physically attacked me,” she said. “We were fighting. I said no.”
His lawyer, Brad D. Rose, said Simmons admitted to dating Sallie but denied any nonconsensual sex.
In addition to the three accusers, the most recent to come forth in the report is Christina Moore. While she didn't accuse Simmons of rape, she did accuse of him assault during Miami's Art Basel event in 2014. Moore says she and her friend ran into Simmons in an elevator and after admitting to being lost, Simmons said he knew where to go. He allegedly led them to his room and ran a bath before putting his hands all over her body. She says that Simmons told her that she was a "bad girl" and threatened to tie her up. However, Moore and her friend left the room immediately.
Simmons has also made a statement to the publication about these allegations.
"I vehemently deny all these allegations. These horrific accusations have shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual," he told them. He continued "I have enormous respect for the women’s movement worldwide and their struggle for respect, dignity, equality and power."
You could read his whole statement here.
