Russell Simmons
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In a video on social media, Russell Simmons blasted those “attacking” his celebrity friends who’ve made visits to his home in Bali.
The entertainment mogul Russell Simmons voiced his frustration with those questioning the celebrities that have come to visit him at his home in Bali, Indonesia where he moved to amid multiple accusations of rape and sexual abuse. “Black people, did you forget that I got 10,000 black men out of jail? … And that I registered more of you to vote than probably anybody you know?”, he said in an Instagram Live video which was shared by another account named Live Bitez on Tuesday (August 20). Simmons was seated in a basic yoga pose as he looked into the camera.
“And I worked for Black Lives Matter and every movement that’s helped our people — all the women’s rights and even gay rights movements that I did so much work for,” Simmons continued, “To let them demonize me in such a way that my friends cannot visit me without you attacking them — but yet you stand next to Donald Trump, knock it off.”
He paused before stating that he’ll be in New York City next week. “I call the paparazzi on myself every time I’m there. I have an office. … I’m there all the time. I work out of New York sometimes, but I live here. This is my last chapter. I live here to heal people … and to give them spiritual and mental rejuvenation.”
The 66-year-old then addressed the accusations directly, saying: “From what I can tell, Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, President Trump, all have more credible claims against them than I do if you ask Oprah [Winfrey]. I’ve never been charged with — who took nine lie detector tests? … Did Bill Clinton do that? Did Joe Biden do that? Did President Trump do that? Knock it off. I love you. I just don’t want my friends attacked … just leave my friends alone. Don’t attack them for visiting me. Attack friends for visiting Trump; he’s been convicted.”
Simmons has been living in Bali since 2017, and has recently been dealing with a few lawsuits accusing him of rape with the most recent being in February when a former music video producer sued him for allegedly attacking her in the 1990s. Several celebrities, including Taraji P. Henson, Usher, and MC Lyte have been pictured hanging out with the mogul in the past few months.
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Taraji P. Henson’s recent visit to Russell Simmons in Bali has raised the ire of social media users, who pointed out other celebs who’ve done the same.On Monday (August 12), former Def Jam founder Russell Simmons shared a photo of himself and Taraji P. Henson in a post on social media, thanking her for her friendship and for visiting his resort complex in Bali, Indonesia. “People when you have friends like this, you are truly blessed!!!! Everyone comes to Gdas for healing, some people exude healing energy. You are one of those,” Simmons wrote in the caption of the Instagram post. “You make everyone happy just with your presence. Love you baby girl, you are back home safe now and are already missed. Until we meet again darling, only love. PS, you mean so much to so many people, keep inspiring us all.”
A few who saw the post had mistakenly thought that Henson had passed, but other commenters quickly corrected them. But many more were upset that the actress was chummy with Simmons, venting their frustration in posts on X, formerly Twitter. One user, Kelezy Kae Graham wrote, “Yuh know they could take the picture and not post it? Like everything is not for the media.” Others were incredulous that she went there, and livid at other celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, MC Lyte, and Usher also making visits to Simmons at the Gdas resort.
Simmons is currently facing several lawsuits for sexual abuse, and the public perception that his living in Bali since 2018 is to avoid prosecution. He was “caught off guard” when served with papers relating to a defamation lawsuit from former Def Jam executive Drew Dixon in February. The 61-year-old has firmly denied that he’s hiding out, recently doing so in a statement in May. “People saying that I somehow can’t come home when I’m there all the time wears on you,” Simmons said. “It wears on me after a while to keep hearing the same narrative, which is false. I’m always in L.A., I’m always in New York and Miami. And I’ve never had any reason to feel unsafe in America.”
Check out the reactions to the latest Simmons post below.
1. Ishmael Mayhew
2. KeesSweat
4. Crooker T. Watchingthem
5. dejnextdoor
6. ChalibooYahh
7. HeyyDiva
8.
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Russell Simmons has not made many public statements after being accused of sexual assault and other crimes during his time as a record company executive. Now residing in Bali, Indonesia, the former Def Jam Recordings mogul took to social media to defend Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is also facing a bevy of sexual assault charges, and urged fans to “see the good in things.”
Taking to Instagram, Russell Simmons, 66, opened up his video by mentioning that there have always been issues in rap but likened the skirmishes to pro wrestling. However, Simmons notes that the way that Kendrick Lamar and Drake are going after each other, while exciting, could eventually lead to gunplay.
“When you tear someone down or you watch someone tear someone down, try not to get so excited. I know it’s fun to watch for some people,” Simmons says, warning that the cycle isn’t healthy over time.
He added, “If I had a nickel for every nasty meme sent to me by people whose lives were enhanced and built by Sean Combs, it’s like, it seems a bit hypocritical since the only reason you have a life is because you worked for him, or he gave you a job or lifted you up somehow.”
The overarching message from Simmons is that the current state of beef and the tearing down of Diddy has created a situation where fans are more invested in the downfall of entertainers than in bettering themselves.
“You may think it’s, you know, entertaining. Some of the memes are funny, right? But, we gotta look up, train our minds to see the good in things and not the negative,” Simmons shared.
On X, fans are naturally blasting Russell Simmons for defending Diddy and for speaking on the beef when he has a mountain of legal issues to face himself, all of which the mogul vehemently denies. Check out the reactions below.
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Earlier this month, the gag reflexes of millions of people on social media were tested when Aoki Lee Simmons, the 21-year-old daughter of Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons, was spotted spotted at the beach on the island of St. Barts sucking face with 65-year-old popular Italian restaurant founder Vittorio Assaf, whom Aoki was apparently dating, which her father reportedly approved of, which isn’t surprising considering the sex scandals Russell Simmons has been drowning in himself.
Well, now, it appears that whatever cirngey, cradle-robbing situationship Aoki and Assaf had going on is already “100% done”—or maybe not.
From Page Six:
It turns out the model’s PDA-filled getaway with the 65-year-old restaurateur was just a fling.
“It’s 100% done. They’re absolutely not dating,” a source close to Aoki told Page Six.
Then again, Simmons referred to Assaf as her “boyfriend” multiple times during the Instagram Live videos she posted from their romantic St. Barts vacation.
In one clip, the 21-year-old even revealed he’s the “second boyfriend” she’s ever had while taking her followers on a tour of his St. Barts property.
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Whether the relationship (or whatever it is/was) between Aoki and the man who is 44 years her senior is truly over or not, can we all agree on one thing? That sh*t is gross.
I mean, the age gap alone is more than twice the number of years Aoki has been alive for. This young woman is only a few years past the age of consent in most states in the U.S., and she’s dating a guy who has been eligible for senior discounts at Wendy’s for like a decade. That doesn’t strike y’all as disgusting and predatory?
While Russell didn’t appear to have a problem with his daughter publicly trading kisses with a man who is old enough to be her grandfather, Kimora Lee was reportedly furious about it. Hopefully, it’s true that Aoki and her geriatric boo-thang have really called it quits and put her poor mother’s mind at ease.
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Russell Simmons was recently served in Bali and learned that he was the target of a defamation lawsuit from Drew Dixon, who has accused the mogul of sexual assault. Russell Simmons is asking that the lawsuit from Drew Dixon be dismissed because he never mentioned the music executive’s name in recent comments about the claims he’s facing.
Radar Online reports that Russell Simmons, 66, is angling to have Dixon’s defamation lawsuit tossed out after being served on March 5 while at the Gdas Bali Health And Wellness Resort.
From Radar Online:
Simmons has since argued that none of the “statements alleged in the Complaint are defamatory as a matter of law, because all the statements are opinion — not fact — and Plaintiff is not clearly identifiable in any of the statements” in a new court filing.
In her lawsuit, Dixon zeroed in on statements made by Simmons during a Dec. podcast interview in which he allegedly attempted to discredit rape accusations against him from six women.
Simmons was a guest on In Depth With Graham Besinger where he explained that he was never “forceful” in his relationships and that anything physical between another woman was consensual.
“If you had more foursomes than most guys at once, could someone leave and feel hurt? Could some reimagine a story out of thousands of people? Could someone want notoriety in the market where people thirst for fame, even infamous,” Simmons said.
Dixon’s legal team wrote that Simmons has, “gone on a concerted and malicious campaign to discredit Ms. Dixon and to so damage her reputation.”
Simmons maintains that he was speaking generally and not about anyone specific.
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Aoki Lee Simmons was spotted enjoying beach time with a much older beau, and her disgraced father Russell Simmons appeared supportive in social media posts.
Last week, Aoki Lee Simmons was spotted at the beach on the island of St. Barts in the company of restauranteur Vittorio Assaf, indulging in heavy public displays of affection including sharing kisses. The 21-year-old model and Harvard University graduate is the youngest daughter of rap mogul Russell Simmons and former model and entrepreneur Kimora Lee Simmons. Assad, 65, co-founded the Serafina Restaurant Group in New York City.
In the recently released photos, Simmons and Assaf could be seen frolicking, with the restauranteur taking pictures of Simmons in various poses. Notably, it was reported that the photographs of the excursion showed up on Aoki Lee Simmons’ Instagram page – with Assaf not being shown in any of them. “Girls (possibly mermaids!) on film,” she wrote in the caption of one photo, sporting an olive green bikini.
An unnamed source did confirm that the two were seeing each other in People Magazine, saying that they were “enjoying each others’ company.” Simmons also recently was in Assaf’s hometown of Milan, Italy during their fashion week in February.
Aoki would then talk about the pair in an Instagram Live session and referred to Assaf as her “boyfriend” while seeming to be intoxicated, which garnered some brushback from fans concerned over the wide age disparity between her and Assaf. “Shes actually giving little girl energy and it’s making it extremely creepy,” one person reportedly commented. Assaf made headlines in 2021 after his now ex-wife Charlotte Bonstrom left him for the ex-husband of her twin sister.
The relationship between Russell Simmons and his daughters has been rocky with Aoki even calling her dad out for abusive behavior online but the 66-year-old Def Jam Records founder seemed to be supportive of his youngest daughter’s new relationship in photos that he shared on his Instagram Stories over the weekend. “Happy Sunday,” he wrote with one photo of Aoki and her sister, Ming when they were children that he shared. He also shared a photo of himself and Aoki in another Instagram post, writing: “Throwback from last fathers day nyc …bode bikram yoga express class .. vegan lunch cryotherapy vitamin drip … all around amazing day ❤️ @aokileesimmons love you always”
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Russell Simmons was served with papers related to a defamation lawsuit against him at a resort in Bali earlier this month.
Rap mogul Russell Simmons was “caught off guard” as he was reportedly served with papers connected to a defamation lawsuit filed by former Def Jam executive Drew Dixon at a resort earlier this month. According to reports, the process server, Daniel John Ayoub arrived at the Gdas Bali Health & Wellness Spa in Bali, Indonesia, on March 5 at 12:30 p.m. local time and managed to gain entry to a VIP area through two security checkpoints.
He sat in the restaurant area and was about to leave when Simmons arrived and sat with a group. Ayoub is quoted as saying he waited before serving Simmons, and informed him that the source of the papers were “from the State of New York.” Simmons is then quoted as responding “Ah s—t! F—!” before dropping the papers to the ground.
Ayoub then goes on record saying that he overheard Simmons calling someone on the phone, audibly flustered. “South African guy just handed me an envelope. And he’s with a big Black guy,” he said. “Should I open the doc now, or wait till later? How did these people get in here?” The server then exited the resort, which Simmons notably is a founder and investor of. Representatives for Simmons and Dixon had no comment when contacted by the press about the matter.
The defamation lawsuit was brought against Simmons in February by Dixon, a veteran music industry executive who also worked at Def Jam and alleges that he sexually assaulted her while working at the label. Dixon first made the claims while appearing in the On The Record documentary in 2020. She sued Simmons after comments that he made during a December 2023 appearance on the In Depth with Graham Besinger podcast about the allegations, which according to the documents of the lawsuit “continued a concerted and malicious campaign to discredit Ms. Dixon and to so damage her reputation that Ms. Dixon’s factual reporting of what he did to her would not be credited.”
Simmons is also facing another lawsuit filed in a New York federal court from a victim referred to as Jane Doe in February, who claims that her career and life were “disrupted and derailed by a devastating experience at the hands of Simmons in addition to false imprisonment, battery and causing emotional distress.
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Joe Budden is unabashed in his opinions and observations on happenings within the culture, and his vocal support of Russell Simmons adds to that reputation. In a recent episode of his eponymously-named podcast, Joe Budden referred to Russell Simmons as “amazing” and added that despite the allegations, people will continue to love the mogul.
On episode 705 of The Joe Budden Podcast, Budden and his cohosts discussed a recent image of Usher with Simmons hanging out in the background after the R&B singer visited Bali.
The pod noticed that Usher made knowledge of his visit to Bali known after his Super Bowl halftime show performance, which probably could have come with some requisite criticism. Parks, one of the cohosts, pushed back at a point Ice made that nobody is giving Usher grief because he’s universally beloved. Parks confirmed that Usher did indeed catch some heat for the image.
This prompted Budden to launch into a missive stating that people love Simmons and that no matter how heinous the crimes are that he’s accused of, folks will continue to love and support him.
“here’s nothing y’all can do to make people stop loving Russell Simmons. Not a thing in the world. Not a thing in the universe is going to make people stop loving Russell Simmons for as many lives as he impacted,” Budden said.
He then added, “Not to negate anything he has done, that stuff, but to those who didn’t have that experience with him, he has been nothing but kind, gentle, sweet, generous, and amazing if you don’t have that horror story with him.”
Budden then shifted his focus from Simmons and said, “Nobody speaks to the side where the women were auctioning their p*ssy to move up in the ranks of the system.”
Yikes.
Joe Budden clarified again that he wasn’t referring to the alleged victims of Russell Simmons.
To hear this portion of the podcast, hop to the 1:56:00 mark below.
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Usher has spent years gathering good will, which only grew exponentially thanks to his Las Vegas residency and rocking the Super Bowl halftime show. However, Ursher has massively played himself after he was spotted kicking it with Russell Simmons in Bali.
In case you’re unaware, Simmons essentially ran off to Bali after he was accused by multiple women of sexual assault. Although Simmons has denied the claims (and former Def Jam exec Drew Dixon produced a whole documentary detailing her allegations), the theory is he skipped town to avoid prosecution. Thus, the Hip-Hop pioneer has been persona non-grata for many.
Nevertheless, there goes Usher seen kicking it with various people including Simmons during a trip to Bali. It’s worth noting that Usher, perhaps knowing better, didn’t share the pics (and video, too) himself. However, Russell gladly took to Instagram to share the good times he was apparently having with Usher. The R&B crooner’s trademark smile in the pics reveals he clearly wasn’t a hostage.
Considering Usher can thank Sean “Diddy” Combs, who has also been accused of sexual assault by multiple women, among the execs instrumental to his early success, being spotted having a good ol’ time with Simmons is not the best of looks. Another exec who had a hand in Usher’s rise was LA Reid, who has also been accused of sexual assault by Dixon as well.
This is not a trend Usher need be associating himself with. We’re not overreacting, you can peep the reactions below. To say that the criticism is rolling thick would be an understatement.
1. A choice was made.
2. Nasty work.
3. Where is the lie?
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Drew Dixon, a former Def Jam executive, is suing Russell Simmons for defamation related to remarks he made on a podcast.
Two days after being hit with a lawsuit alleging sexual assault, Russell Simmons is being sued again – this time by Drew Dixon, a former A&R executive at Def Jam Records. The suit, which was filed in New York City on Thursday (February 15), contends that Simmons made comments in a “concerted and malicious campaign to discredit” Dixon to discount her previous allegations of him committing sexual assault against her. The comments come from an interview of Simmons on the In Depth With Graham Besinger podcast last December where he claimed there were different definitions of rape and harassment, saying: “Yeah, [rape is] a serious word, but I think they’ve changed the meaning.”
The legal filing says that the Def Jam Records co-founder “has gone on a concerted and malicious campaign to discredit Ms. Dixon and to so damage her reputation” to the point where Dixon’s previous allegations wouldn’t be seen as credible. “He has continued in his campaign to discredit Ms. Dixon, referring to the ‘main accuser’ from On the Record and calling her a liar for making the account of the assault public—defamation that started in December 2019 has continued until today,” Kenya Davis, a lawyer representing Dixon, wrote in the suit. Dixon was one of the main subjects of the documentary. Simmons would claim that Winfrey pulled her name from the documentary at his request. “This defamation has reached all the way up the ladder to the pinnacle of the leadership circle, not only including Ms. Winfrey, but other founding board members of Time’s Up, including some of our nation’s most powerful women spanning industries from business to politics to entertainment,” Davis also wrote. The lawsuit is seeking punitive and compensatory damages.
Drew Dixon, who had worked at Def Jam from 1993 until 1995, first came forward with her claim of Simmons assaulting her along with two other women to the New York Times in 2017. She alleges that she constantly fought off Simmons’ aggressive sexual advances while at Def Jam which led to him pinning her to a bed in his apartment in 1995 and sexually assaulting her. Simmons has disputed those claims. 20 women in total have since come forward to accuse the 66-year-old of sexual misconduct.