A former music video producer sued Russell Simmons for allegedly raping her in the late ’90s.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe, alleged in her lawsuit filed Tuesday that the Def Jam Recordings co-founder, now 66, pinned her down on his bed and raped her when she visited his Manhattan apartment to get his approval for a rough cut of a video.
“Ms. Doe rejected his advance and told him to ‘get off’ and ‘stop’ several times,” the suit stated, according to PvNew.
“She told him she was ‘serious’ and she ‘meant it.’ But Ms. Doe was forcefully pinned, could not move under his weight and Mr. Simmons would not listen to her.”
Simmons, who fled to Bali in 2017 after being accused of rape and sexual misconduct by multiple women, was the subject of a 2020 documentary centered on the allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against the disgraced hip-hop mogul.
Doe said she noticed a familiar pattern in her story to what other women had allegedly experienced with Simmons.
“When Ms. Doe learned about the accounts of the other survivors, she was struck by how similar they were to her own horrible experience at the hands of Mr. Simmons,” the suit said.
The plaintiff claimed Simmons would sexually harass her in her office at work prior to the alleged assault.
Doe’s attorneys, Kenya Davis and Sigrid McCawley, told PvNew that their client’s career was rising before the alleged incident.
“She was proud of her contributions to the burgeoning musical genre of hip-hop, but her hard work and her career in music was disrupted and derailed by Mr. Simmons, a rich and powerful celebrity whose wealth and influence allowed his abusive behavior to go unchallenged for decades,” the lawyers said.
“Now a successful writer and producer in the entertainment industry, Jane Doe’s traumatic experiences with Simmons echo those of so many other women who he has preyed upon for decades.”
“Ms. Doe was horrified,” the complaint continued. “She realized not only was he unapologetic towards her personally, he did not appreciate that the assault was wrong.”
Pvnew has reached out to Simmons’ rep for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Simmons, who has two daughters with ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons, previously denied ever forcing himself on anyone.
“I’m guilty — of having underwritten, supported, made soundtracks for, taken advantage of and lived in a grossly unjust society,” he said on “The Breakfast Club” in 2020.
“I helped write the song ‘I’m a Ho’ with Whodini. … I made the movie ‘How to Be a Player’ and Bell Bill Bellamy played me. So I know what I’m guilty of, and I’ve been unconscious as a playboy, and today the title is appropriate of ‘womanizer,’ so I’m guilty of that. And you know, back then I thought it was a game … there were no black actresses that I didn’t date, and they’re my friends today.”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
