Russell Simmons is facing claims of sexual harassment and battery, brought forward by a former executive at Def Jam Recordings.
The rap and hip-hop heavyweight – who co-founded the label with producer Rick Rubin – is accused by a former employee of “derailing” her career after raping her in the 1990s, according to a new lawsuit.
The plaintiff, going as “Jane Doe” filed the lawsuit in New York federal court on Tuesday (February 13), accusing the mogul of sexual assault and battery, as well as stalling her career.
According to the court filing (via The Guardian), “Ms Doe’s career in the music industry was disrupted and derailed by a devastating experience at the hands of Mr Simmons.” It also states that she and Simmons had a professional working relationship at first, before he later “revealed his true colours” and “disabled Ms Doe’s career at Def Jam, a job she loved, at the height of her success and financial viability” through his “assaultive behaviour”.
Simmons has not yet responded to requests for comment, however, is expected to deny all accusations raised against him. This comes as, following other accusations of sexual assault and rape in 2017, he shared a statement stating: “I completely and unequivocally deny the horrendous allegations of non-consensual sex against me with every fibre of my being.”
In Tuesday’s filing, Doe outlined a specific incident. Here, she alleged that Simmons asked her to visit his New York City apartment to work on a new video, however, when she arrived he began to “wrestle” with her “in an attempt to appear playful”. The situation is then reported as having “escalated into aggression”, with him allegedly pinning her down on a bed, where he “proceeded to rape her” despite being “repeatedly told” to get off her.
Because of the incident, the suit claims, Doe struggled to perform her executive job role due to panic attacks, depression and anxiety. It also states that she was subjected to repeated harassment by Simmons at the company’s Manhattan offices.
“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,” the complaint states. “Mr Simmons would follow Ms Doe to the door or block her path to prevent her from opening it again.”
The complaint was filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act (ASA) – which provides victims of sexual assault with a year-long window to bring claims forward that otherwise would have fallen outside the statute of limitations.
At time of writing, it is unclear if the lawsuit can proceed under the ASA or under a subsequent Gender-Motivated Violence Act. This comes as the plaintiff claims “Simmons committed a ‘crime of violence’ against Ms Doe because she is a woman and, at least in part, because he has an unlawful animus towards women”.
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