Drew Dixon has opened up about the sexual assault and harassment she endured while working with Russell Simmons in the 90s. It began after the Stanford graduate had landed her dream job as an A&R at Def Jam at the age of 24. The cycle of abuse was initiated with Simmons' lewd remarks over the phone followed by his apologies for his inappropriate behavior. Then, it slowly got physical, from his pulling Dixon onto his lap in one instance to his eventual act of rape.
“He would come in my office, shut the door, lock it, and push me against the wall, exposing himself"
Once the pattern was clear, Dixon still wanted to hold onto her promising career. In hindsight, she says she might have wanted to quit.
“You could say I should’ve quit. I look back now; I would want my daughter to quit,” Dixon said. “I also wanted to prove to people that I could do this. I love hip-hop.”
Dixon had taken steps to avoid being alone in a room with Simmons. Still, the music mogul was able to lure her in with a professional matter to his home with the intention of ambushing her.
“I walk in, I immediately had this sort of uncomfortable feeling like, Why is it so quiet?”
Russell Simmons gave her instructions for their meeting before excusing himself to the bathroom. When he returned, “he was not wearing any clothes and it became very violent, very quickly.”
A total of 18 women have come forward with similar allegations. Watch her full testimony below.
