Russell Simmons is facing a new lawsuit from a music video producer who alleges he raped her while she worked for Def Jam Recordings in the 1990s. The Jane Dane says she traveled to Simmons’ Manhattan apartment to get his approval for a rough cut of a video when he made a “wrestling move,” to pin her down on his bed and rape 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.”
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It's far from the first time Simmons has faced allegations of sexual misconduct. He previously stepped down from his role at Def Jam following multiple accusations in 2017. The new lawsuit uses these stories to display a pattern of behavior from Simmons. The alleged victim's attorneys, Kenya Davis and Sigrid McCawley, also say Jane Doe's career was thriving at the time of the assault. “She was proud of her contributions to the burgeoning musical genre of hip hop, but her hard work and her career in music was disrupted and derailed by Mr. Simmons, a rich and powerful celebrity whose wealth and influence allowed his abusive behavior to go unchallenged for decades,” they said. “Now a successful writer and producer in the entertainment industry, Jane Doe’s traumatic experiences with Simmons echo those of so many other women who he has preyed upon for decades.”
She says the assault “forever changed” her and she struggled with panic attacks and developed an eating disorder. Jane Doe soon took and quit three different jobs at production companies over a two-year period. In March 2023, she says she ran into Simmons at a yoga class and he remarked: "What, do you think I’m gonna try and f*ck you?” Be on the lookout for further updates on Russell Simmons on HotNewHipHop.
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