It was an extreme measure when pioneering hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons made the decision to step down from every single one of his business after staggering sexual misconduct allegations from the 90s, surfaced. The current scandal has transformed the once always tranquil spirit of Simmons into a taut soul.
Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 13th), the Def Jam patriarch took to Instagram to share his direct response with the world about the allegations after a very fresh New York Times exposé was published where four women accuse Simmons of sexual misconduct and three out of those four women claim he raped them.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcqZWCsAlfX/
“I have never had a sexual encounter that was not consensual or lawful. Ever,” Simmons declares in the first picture of the dual photo post.
The break down of his stance proceeds to the second photo as he immediately denies the allegations and reiterates that all of his sexual encounters have been consensual. Meaning, he has always been granted permission by every single one of his sexual counterparts to behave in an intimately erotic way with them.
“I vehemently deny all these allegations. These horrific accusations have shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual.”
Simmons made it known that his seasoned experiences with women both in the professional setting and personal, have placed him in a position to encourage women’s development and “their struggle for respect, dignity, equality and power.”
There is apparently a thirsty money hungry motive here, according to Rush. “In some of these instances, financial motives and direct contradictory witness testimony has been supplied to the media, which has been completely left out of stories.”
It was a revealing LA Times exposé where the first allegation was detailed from the court of model Keri Claussen Khaligi, who claims Russell induced sexual advances towards her after dinner at Mr. Chow’s in New York City while in the company of Brett Ratner, whose own rigorous sexual misconduct allegations precede the entrepreneur’s. He wrote a lengthy response to the exposé, where he claims the act was consensual. But, it was the NYT exposé that triggered this recent response. Simmons made a case about the article saying: “The current allegations sent to me by the New York Times range from the patently untrue to the frivolous and hurtful.”
He goes on to shed light on the fact he has already apologized to those he may have been tactless with during consensual sexual encounters.
After screenwriter Jenny Lumet unfolded her 1991 encounter with Simmons, claiming he daunted her into having sex, the music mogul made the bleak decision of stepping down from his businesses, leaving behind All Def Digital, Def Pictures, Tantric, a yoga lifestyle brand, and an abundance of his humanitarian efforts. He reveals the core purpose of the act was “in order to not become a distraction.”
The Rush Card ambassador finds that his dedication to spiritual education and community work does not allow him to become a candidate for such allegations. The recent rise of sexual misconduct allegations amidst public figures is viewed by Simmons as “the birth of a new consciousness about women.” He does not find it suitable to concede the responsibility for an act he did not perform.
“What I will not accept is responsibility for what I have not done.”
Despite having shared his alternative natured flaws in the past, unapologetically, along with his serene way of life Russell states that he will do whatever it takes to erase the “man of violence” image from his profile.
“…I will relentlessly fight against any untruthful character assassination that paints me as a man of violence.”
