Russell Simmons Accused of Rape in $10 Million Lawsuit
LatestRussell Simmons has been accused of rape in a $10 million lawsuit filed March 23 by a woman identified as Jane Doe. Doe seeks damages for forcible rape and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
In court documents obtained by Deadline, Doe alleges that she attended a concert where she and her son, who was in attendance, were approached by Simmons. After dropping her son off with a babysitter, according to the lawsuit Doe and Simmons went to a nightclub, after which Simmons said he had to stop and get something at his hotel room. Once in the room, Doe alleges in the suit that Simmons said “I am going to f— you” and after she protested he said, “I am going to f— you or I am going to f— your son. You decide.” Court documents state that Simmons then raped Doe, with one witness who saw Doe leave the hotel room in tears afterwards.
In a statement sent to Billboard on March 23, Simmons denied the allegations outlined in the lawsuit. “They have shocked me to my core as I have never been abusive or violent in any way in my relations with women,” he wrote. “I have submitted myself to multiple lie detector tests. I denied forced sex and sexual harassment allegations brought against me in each test; I also answered no to the question, ‘Have you ever physically forced any woman to have sexual intercourse?’ I passed all of the lie detector tests.”
In November 2017 model Keri Claussen Khalighi told the Los Angeles Times that she was forced to perform oral sex on Russell Simmons in 1991. Since then several women have come forward with stories of sexual coercion and misconduct involving Simmons. In January 2018 Jennifer Jarosik filed a $5 million lawsuit against Simmons for raping her in 2016. Billboard points out that Doe’s lawsuit marks the 16th woman to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Simmons.