Def Jam Recordings co-founder Russell Simmons is stepping away from his company in the wake of new sexual assault allegations.
Overnight, award-winning screenwriter Jenny Lumet published a harrowing essay for The Hollywood Reporter in which she alleged Simmons sexually violated her in 1991, when she was 24 years old.
She says that he offered her a ride home following a dinner, but instead took her to his New York apartment against her will and had sex with her.
“You didn’t punch me, drag me or verbally threaten me,” she wrote. “You used your size to manoeuvre me, quickly, into the elevator. I said, ‘Wait. Wait.’ I felt dread. I was very, very sad. I didn’t know if the driver was a further threat, or an ally. I was both relieved and terrified when he did not get into the elevator. Alone in the elevator, you pressed me into the corner with your body, your hands and your mouth.”
Lumet only confided the incident to a friend in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein allegations, and is speaking up now to protect younger women.
“There is so much guilt, and so much shame. There is an excruciating internal reckoning. As a woman of colour, I cannot express how wrenching it is to write this about a successful man of colour. Again, shame about who I was years ago, choices made years ago. In this very moment, I feel a pang to protect your daughters. I don’t think you are inclined to protect mine.”
Simmons has also been accused of teaming up with Brett Ratner to sexually assault women. One woman, Keri Claussen Khalighi, told the Los Angeles Times that when she was a 17-year-old fashion model, she had been taken back to Simmons’ apartment on the pretence of showing her a new music video. Once they arrived, Simmons began making aggressive sexual advances.
“I looked over at Brett [Ratnor] and said ‘help me’ and I’ll never forget the look on his face,” she told the publication. “In that moment, the realisation fell on me that they were in it together.”
Following that allegation, Simmons released a statement saying that “Abusing women in any way, shape or form violates the very core of my being,” – a statement Lumet quoted him on in her essay.
In the wake of this new allegation, Simmons has apologised for his behaviour towards Lumet, and stepped away from his company.
“I know Jenny and her family and have seen her several times over the years since the evening she described. While her memory of that evening is very different from mine, it is now clear to me that her feelings of fear and intimidation are real,” he said.
“While I have never been violent, I have been thoughtless and insensitive in some of my relationships over many decades and I sincerely apologise.
“This is a time of great transition. The voices of the voiceless, those who have been hurt or shamed, deserve and need to be heard. As the corridors of power inevitably make way for a new generation, I don’t want to be a distraction, so I am removing myself from the businesses that I founded.”
He added that he will commit himself to continuing his “personal growth, spiritual learning, and above all listening.”
If you would like to access support or speak to someone about sexual assault, please call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
