9 more women accuse Russell Simmons of rape or sexual harassment

In November, two women — model Keri Claussen Khalighi and screenwriter Jenny Lumet — accused Def Jam founder and lifestyle entrepreneur Russell Simmons of sexual assault, prompting Simmons to "step aside" from his business empire. On Wednesday, The New York Times and Los Angeles Times recounted the stories of nine more women, four of whom accused Russell of raping them. They said they came forward now because of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and Simmons' denials about sexually assaulting Khalighi and Lumet.

Music producer Drew Dixon, singer Tina Baker, and music journalist Toni Sallie told The New York Times that Simmons raped them in the late 1980s and '90s, and female hip-hop artist Sherri Hines told the L.A. Times he raped her in 1983. Each of the women told friends or family about being raped contemporaneously, the newspapers confirmed. Christina Moore, comedian Amanda Seales, Lisa Kirk, actress Natashia Williams-Blach, and massage therapist Erin Beattie said that Simmons had sexually harassed or propositioned them, often by exposing his genitals.

In a statement to The New York Times, Simmons, 60, said he has "accepted that I can and should get dirt on my sleeves if it means witnessing the birth of a new consciousness about women," but "what I will not accept is responsibility for what I have not done," and when it comes to the rape accusations, "I vehemently deny all these allegations. These horrific accusations have shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Dixon and Sallie left the music business, largely, they say, because of being harassed and assaulted by Simmons and professional gatekeepers like him. Dixon said she can't even listen to the hit music she helped create. "I gave up something that I loved to do," she told The New York Times. "I erased myself," and now "I want people to know why." You can read the detailed allegations at The New York Times and L.A. Times.