In total, six women claim that Def Jam’s founder sexually assaulted them.
The scandal Harvey Weistein shakes Hollywood, and far beyond! Like the film producer, several public figures are suspected of harassment, sexual assault and / or rape. The businessman Russell Simmons joins the list, but he ” vehemently denies ” the serious charges against him.
The Russell Simmons case began on November 19th. The Los Angeles Times then publishes an article about Keri Claussen Khalighi, author of the first charge. In 1991, the then 17-year-old model meets Russell Simmons, 33, and his protégé, the director of clips (since become producer and businessman) Brett Ratner .
After a dinner at Mr Chow’s restaurant in New York, the teenager and the two men return to Russell Simmons’ home. On the spot, the founder of the music label Def Jam Records would have forced him to make him a blowjob, under the eyes of an accomplice Brett Ratner. “[Brett] sat down and he watched, ” Keri told The Times .
Since the release of this article, five other women have publicly claimed that Russell Simmons forced them to yield to his advances. The New York Times published on Wednesday December 13 another article on three of them, accusing Russell Simmons of rape. These crimes allegedly occurred between 1988 and 2014.
The same day, Russell Simmons reacted through a statement. He writes: ” I vehemently deny all these allegations and these horrible accusations deeply shocked me and all my relations were granted. ”
” The presumption of innocence until one is found guilty should not be replaced by ‘guilty by association’, ” adds Russell Simmons in bold. In recent weeks, the 60-year-old businessman has stepped down from various companies, a decision motivated by the seriousness of the charges and the scale of the scandal.
Russell Simmons is the father of two daughters, Ming and Aoki (17 and 15), born from his marriage with clothing designer Kimora Lee Simmons.