Russell Simmons Sued for $10 Million Over Alleged Rape

Another woman has come forward claiming that Simmons allegedly raped her
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Rodrigo Varela

Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons has been sued again over an alleged rape. A woman identified as Jane Doe has filed a lawsuit against Simmons, claiming that he raped and inflicted emotional distress upon her. In the complaint viewed by Pitchfork, the woman says Simmons first approached her when she and her son (who was in elementary school at the time) were attending a rap concert featuring Def Jam artists. He allegedly invited the woman to an “after party” at his hotel after she dropped her son off at home with a baby sitter.

At the end of the night, the woman claims that Simmons invited her to his room, insisting that “it was not an invitation to have sexual relations.” Simmons then allegedly closed the door and said that he was going to have sex with her. He allegedly threatened to rape the woman’s son if she did not comply with his demands. The woman claims that Simmons then raped her. Jane Doe is seeking $10 million in damages. Read the full complaint. Simmons responded in a statement:

I vehemently deny all the allegations made against me. They have shocked me to my core as I have never been abusive or violent in any way in my relations with women. 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.

At the end of 2017, Simmons faced sexual assault and rape allegations from multiple women, which he denied. In November, he stepped down from his companies. In January 2018, the NYPD launched an investigation regarding the allegations against him. Simmons was then hit with a $5 million lawsuit from a woman named Jennifer Jarosik, who claims that Simmons raped her in 2016. Simmons denied the allegations. “This allegation is absolutely untrue,” he wrote in a statement. “I look forward to having my day in court - where, unlike the court of public opinion, I will have the ability to make use of fair processes that ensure that justice will be done and that the full truth will be known.”

Read “Russell Simmons’ Role in Rap, and the Rape Allegations Against Him.”