Three Russell Simmons (above) accusers shared how they were allegedly raped by the media mogul in a sit down interview with CBS
Three of Russell Simmons’ accusers are opening up about how the media mogul allegedly sexually assaulted them and how they kept silent about the attacks for years.
In a sit down with CBS This Morning Drew Dixon, Sil Lai Abrams and Alexia Norton Jones detailed how the music executive and film producer came on to them and allegedly raped them.
The women’s cases will be told in full for the first time in a yet-to-be titled new documentary set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival at the end of the month.
They’re just three of some 16 women who have accused Simmons of sexual assault or rape.
‘I did not want to come forward. It was the last think I wanted to do. Everyone said don’t do it, it’s going to ruin my life,’ Sil Lai Abrams said on the morning show.
‘I was helping him cover it up for 22 years and I thought, let me see what it just feels like to let it go,’ Drew Dixon said.
In a sit down with CBS This Morning Drew Dixon, Sil Lai Abrams and Alexia Norton Jones detailed how Russell Simmons allegedly raped them
Alexia Norton Jones said Simmons raped her on their first and only date back in 1991. ‘This was a very swift attack…he raped me right up against the f***ing wall’
Sil Lai Abrams occasionally dated Simmons when she was young, but that part of their relationship was over when he allegedly raped her in 1994 when she was too drunk to consent, leaving her suicidal
Dixon said she was working for Simmons in 1995 when he allegedly attacked her. She said: ‘He showed up naked, wearing a condom and tackled me to his bed, while I screamed and fought and said, “No,” and cried. That’s rape’
Simmons, an American entrepreneur who co-founded the hip hop music label Def Jam Recordings, was first accused in November 2017 of sexual assault. After that a slew of other accusations, some by women who were 17 at the time of the alleged assaults, came forward to accuse Simmons of sexual harassment, assault or rape.
He has denied all those allegations, saying all his encounters were consensual.
Dixon said she was working for Simmons in 1995 when he allegedly attacked her.
‘I literally worked for him. He was ordering me a car, and he told me to come upstairs and pick up a demo. I thought I would be in his apartment for five total minutes. That’s it. And he showed up naked, wearing a condom and tackled me to his bed, while I screamed and fought and said, “No,” and cried. That’s rape,’ Dixon recalled.
‘This is violently tackled and raped — while saying no and fighting and crying,’ she added.
Sil Lai Abrams occasionally dated Simmons, but that part of their relationship was over when he allegedly raped her in 1994.
‘He’ll say, “Yes, we had a sexual relationship,” but he cannot address the fact that I was too drunk to consent, and that the next day I called him up, screaming. And I attempted suicide. He knew,’ she revealed.
‘And I told him why, that he had ruined my life, and that I had nothing,’ she added.
Jones said she knew Simmons in her early 20s before he hit fame. She said he raped her on their first and only date in 1991.
‘This was a very swift attack, and what was going through my mind more than anything was, “Why?”‘ she said. ‘Because I liked Russell. And I, you know, I would’ve just kissed him. I would’ve made out with him. I would’ve — he didn’t have to attack me.’
‘He raped me right up against the f***ing wall. Excuse my language. But he — that’s what he did. I had to keep this secret,’ she said, her voice choking with tears.
The women said they were encouraged to come out with the #MeToo movement where women started to accuse big figures such as movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct and assault.
‘It was like carrying a malignant cancer,’ Dixon said on silently carrying the burden of the assault for years. ‘I’m just relieved to be done enabling him essentially by not telling people what he did.’
Simmons, an American entrepreneur who co-founded the hip hop music label Def Jam Recordings, was first accused in November 2017 of sexual assault. After that a slew of other accusations, some by women who were 17 at the time of the alleged assault, came forward to accuse Simmons of sexual harassment, assault or rape
Drew Dixon pictured above in the documentary that will air at the Sundance Film Festival at the end of the month. ‘I hope that black women and girls become more visible as a result of this documentary,’ she said on the film
‘It felt like this portal opened suddenly, where women were being believed, and I wondered if that would apply to black women,’ Dixon added.
With this documentary, the women hope they can encourage others to speak out against a culture of assault and harassment, especially women of color.
‘I hope that black women and girls become more visible as a result of this documentary,’ Dixon said.
All three women filed a police report against Simmons decades after the alleged crimes took place. They were filed beyond the statue of limitations to prosecute.
Simmons faces no charges.
The accusations have hit Simmons, a pillar of hip hop and big name in Hollywood and the fashion world, hard. He stepped down from his position in Def Jam Recordings and lost a deal with HBO where his name and likeness were removed from his stand up comedy specials.
Russell released a statement in light of the allegations maintaining that all his encounters and relationships have been consensual and described himself as a former ‘playboy’.
Just this week Oprah Winfrey stepped away from being executive producer of the documentary about the Simmons accusations. Winfrey left the film citing creative differences but said in a statement that she supported the accusers
‘I have issued countless detailed denials of the false accusations against me, including pages of sworn witness testimony including family members, clergy, journalists and mutual friends who were present at every stage. These denials have been validated by my passing 9 prosecution-grade lie detector tests,’ he said.
‘I have admitted to being a massively unconscious “playboy” which today is appropriately titled “womanizer.” Continuing to live my life honorably as an open book for decades, devoid of any kind of violence against anyone, as has been documented and examined in detail worldwide since the very early days of hip hop, which is my life’s testimony and work. What I won’t do is engage in a shootout of attacks and counter-attacks,’ he continued.
‘The social change from today’s activism is more important to the world my daughters will inherit than any dirt from false accusations from nearly 40 years ago,’ he added.
Just this week Oprah Winfrey stepped away from being executive producer of the documentary about the Simmons accusations. Simmons had launched a private and public campaign to question her involvement in the movie.
‘He is a media mogul. He has millions of followers. I have, like, a thousand …And he is using that muscle to try to drown out our voices,’ Dixon said.
Winfrey left the film citing creative differences but said in a statement that she supported the accusers.
‘There is more work to be done on the film to illuminate the full scope of what the victims endured… I want it to be known that I unequivocally believe and support the women,’ Winfrey said.