Russell Simmons Accused of Rape by Three Women in New NYT Report
Three women in a new report tonight are accusing music mogul Russell Simmons of rape.
Simmons stepped down from his businesses late last month after writer Jenny Lumet wrote a column saying he sexually violated her.
The New York Times‘ big new report says that multiple women came forward to speak about “a pattern of violent sexual behavior by Mr. Simmons, disclosing incidents from 1988 to 2014.”
Toni Sallie, a former music journalist, alleges that when Simmons invited her to his apartment or a party, the following took place:
Saying he wanted to show her the apartment, Mr. Simmons led her to his bedroom.
“He pushed me on the bed and jumped on top of me, and physically attacked me,” she said. “We were fighting. I said no.” He raped her, she said. Two friends, Sheila Brody and Arlene Hirschkowitz, and a colleague confirmed that Ms. Sallie told them about the assault around the time it happened.
Tina Baker and Drew Dixon shared their stories with the Times as well.
Baker “recalled ‘him on top of him, pushing me down,'” and said she was “pinned on the bed.”
Dixon, a former Def Jam executive, says she rejected his advances, but “he told her he didn’t care.” She says she blacked out:
The next thing she recalled was being in Mr. Simmons’s hot tub, both of them naked and Mr. Simmons gleeful. (Ms. Dixon said she had not been drinking and did not think she had been drugged; rather, she said, she had disassociated from the experience.)
Denise Gayle, a friend who was then staying with Ms. Dixon, recalled her coming home in a daze. “She pretty much told me right away that he had sexually assaulted her, that she had told him no, cried and that he didn’t seem to be interested in stopping,” Ms. Gayle said. “She mentally deteriorated instantly.” Three others confirmed that Ms. Dixon told them about the assault and harassment around that time.
The Times posted Simmons’ statement on all of these allegations in full, which you can read below:
I vehemently deny all these allegations. These horrific accusations have shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual.
I am blessed to have shared extraordinary relationships, whether through work or love, with many great women; and I have enormous respect for the women’s movement worldwide and their struggle for respect, dignity, equality and power. I am devastated by any reason I may have given to anyone to say or think of me in the ways that are currently being described. In recent weeks, some former business, creative and romantic partners have aired grievances as claims I categorically reject. In some of these instances, financial motives and direct contradictory witness testimony has been supplied to the media, which has been completely left out of stories. In the last few days, one woman attempted to extort me for $500,000 only to recant her ridiculous claim. The current allegations sent to me by The New York Times range from the patently untrue to the frivolous and hurtful. The presumption of innocent until proven guilty must not be replaced by “Guilty by Accusation.”
I have already apologized for the instances of thoughtlessness in my consensual relations. I have separated myself from my businesses and charities in order to not become a distraction. I have re-dedicated myself to spiritual learning, healing and working on behalf of the communities to which I have devoted my life. I have accepted that I can and should get dirt on my sleeves if it means witnessing the birth of a new consciousness about women. What I will not accept is responsibility for what I have not done. I have conducted my life with a message of peace and love. Although I have been candid about how I have lived in books and interviews detailing my flaws, I will relentlessly fight against any untruthful character assassination that paints me as a man of violence.
[image via Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com]
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