Russell Simmons has been accused of sexual assault by 20 women and received multiple lawsuits on the matter since 2017, one of which just took an interesting turn. Moreover, according to an exclusive AllHipHop report, a lawsuit from a Jane Doe claims that he forged her signature on a document settling their dispute over her accusations that he sexually assaulted her. Doe is reportedly a former Def Jam employee, and court documents allege that she felt appalled with the label's co-founder's response to her allegations, which she believes insufficiently address the weight of his alleged actions. He only gave a vague apology after November of 2023, when he learned of potential legal action through the Adult Survivors Act, court docs maintain.
Furthermore, during this legal process, a document from three decades ago emerged that supposedly settled their lawsuit in writing. However, due to factors like handwriting and the company letterhead, Jane Doe claimed that this document is fake and that Russell Simmons forged her signature on it. "The document is an Adobe pdf file titled ‘Agreement – Jane Doe v. Russell Simmons,’ although the words ‘[Doe] – Executed Document.pdf’ also appear in the body of the file at the top of each page," court docs read. "The metadata for the file states ‘Created: March 24, 2024.’ The document is dated ‘January 9, 1997’ at the top of each page, but states ‘[Jane Doe] 1-6-97′ at the bottom of each page."
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Russell Simmons At A 2023 MusiCares Event
As such, Jane Doe denies signing the document and alleged that it's a falsehood. Also, she argued that even if this is a real document, it only covers her Def Jam exit and small financial considerations, not the actual accusation of sexual assault against Russell Simmons. With this in mind, plus his post-"settlement" behavior which allegedly includes various instances of confrontation, puts the document's authenticity into question. While Doe's legal team continues to argue against the document's validity, it wouldn't completely close the door if it's legitimate paperwork.
Meanwhile, Jane Doe requests "general, punitive and economic damages for loss of employment, loss of business opportunities, [and] loss of wages" in this case. In addition, she wants Russell Simmons to compensate her "for injuries suffered as a result of the unlawful conduct alleged herein." We'll see what this means for the development of this and other cases as a whole. As for Simmons, he's completely denied any and all accusations, standing behind his nine lie detector tests as proof of his innocence.
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