Disgraced music mogul Russell Simmons is at the center of a new lawsuit alleging he raped a former Def Jam Recordings employee in his Manhattan apartment during the 1990s.
The complaint, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, comes from an accuser, identified in the suit only as Jane Doe, who said she worked as a senior music executive at Def Jam. She alleges that Simmons “harassed, assaulted, sexually assaulted and raped her” during her time at the label.
“EM. Doe's career in the music industry was interrupted and derailed by a devastating experience at the hands of Mr. Simmons,” says the lawsuit, filed by her attorney Kenya K. Davis.
A representative for Simmons shared his statement with The Times: “I have never had sexual relations without consent. “I wouldn't do it, I didn't do it and I never will.”
The representative also said Simmons “has voluntarily submitted to numerous lie detector tests, all of which support his statement.”
The lawsuit, reviewed by The Times, describes Doe as a former music video producer who began working for Def Jam in the mid-1990s. While at the company, Doe expanded the label's presence on MTV, recruited directors and high-profile creatives for Def Jam projects and produced award-winning videos, according to the lawsuit.
According to the complaint, Doe, like other employees, frequently visited Simmons' Manhattan apartment to conduct business matters. The lawsuit said that before the assault, Doe had gone to Simmons' home several times to deliver music videos for review “without incident.”
The complaint alleged that Simmons, who sold his stake in the company in 1999, “suddenly began to direct his predatory attention” toward Doe. At the Def Jam office, Simmons allegedly visited Doe's office, sat on her desk, leaned over her, and made sexually suggestive and inappropriate comments. He also rubbed the front of his pants while he was in Doe's office, according to the lawsuit.
“This happened repeatedly during that period,” the lawsuit says, adding that another senior executive had once yelled at Simmons to leave Doe's office.
The alleged rape occurred on an unspecified date when Doe visited Simmons' apartment to get her approval for a music video, according to the lawsuit. The complaint says Simmons made sexual advances toward Doe, asking her explicit questions about his underwear and her sexual preferences.
After Doe urged Simmons to refocus on work, he allegedly took her to a bedroom to watch the first cut of the music video. The complaint said it was common practice for Simmons to conduct business from her bedroom. The lawsuit says Simmons began jumping on the bed and asked Doe to have sex with him. She rejected him.
“Suddenly, Mr. Simmons performed a 'wrestling move,' climbing on top of Ms. Doe and pinning her arms to the bed,” the lawsuit says.
When Simmons allegedly repeated his requests for sex, Doe told him to stop and move away from her several times, according to the lawsuit. He continued to ignore her denials and “proceeded to rape her.” Simmons then went to a nearby bathroom and left the door open to discuss business matters with Doe before sending her back to the office.
Doe left Def Jam in 1997 and went on to work as an executive producer for various film, television and commercial companies. He struggled to stay in a job due to the trauma of Simmons' alleged rape of him.
A representative for Def Jam had no comment.
“After the assault, she became a completely different person,” the lawsuit says.
Simmons' alleged rape of Doe resulted in “overwhelming anxiety, shame, humiliation, and debilitating low self-esteem,” according to the court document. In addition to leaving his job at Def Jam, Doe also moved from New York to California.
She is seeking an unspecified amount in damages, including loss of employment, loss of wages and compensation. Doe also demanded a jury trial for all actionable claims.
Tuesday's lawsuit is the latest claim in a series of sexual harassment allegations against Simmons. Amid the rise of the #MeToo movement in 2017, several women accused Simmons of rape, including model Keri Claussen Khalighi. She denied the allegations and resigned from her various business ventures.
A year later, in 2018, Simmons was hit with a $10 million rape lawsuit filed by a woman who said Simmons forced himself on her in a hotel room after a concert. She also denied that accusation.
“I vehemently deny all allegations made against me. “They have shocked me to my core, as I have never been abusive or violent in any way in my relationships with women,” he said at the time.
Times researcher Cary Schneider contributed to this report.
