Russell Simmons accused of rape in lawsuit filed by former Def Jam executive
A former senior executive at Def Jam Recordings said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that Russell Simmons raped her at his apartment in Manhattan in the late 1990s.
A former senior executive at Def Jam Recordings said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that Russell Simmons raped her at his apartment in Manhattan in the late 1990s.
In the complaint, the woman who is identified as Jane Doe and described as an accomplished film producer who joined Simmons’ Def Jam Recordings in the mid-1990s, said they initially had a professional working relationship but that he “suddenly began to turn his rapacious attention toward” her.
“Mr. Simmons would arrive at Def Jam, enter Ms. Doe’s office, and shut the door behind him,” the complaint alleges. “He would sit on her desk, lean over her, aggressively invading her personal space while making sexual innuendos, suggestions, and advances, and rubbing the front of his pants. Mr. Simmons would follow Ms. Doe to the door or block her path to prevent her from opening it again.”
According to the lawsuit, this happened repeatedly before the alleged sexual assault.
On the day of the alleged assault, the woman said she was required to visit Simmons’ apartment, where he typically held meetings, to have him review a rough cut of a video for approval, the lawsuit states. Simmons brought her to a bedroom to watch the video, according to the suit. She said it was not uncommon for him to conduct business in a bedroom while sitting on the bed. The woman alleges he began to “wrestle” with her “in an attempt to appear playful,” that his behavior escalated into aggression and he pinned her down on a bed, according to the suit. She alleges that she repeatedly told him to get off her, but he refused and then raped her.
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