Russell Simmons Resigns Following Sexual Assault Allegations

12-01-2017
. (Radio.com) Russell Simmons is stepping down as the head of his companies following sexual assault allegations. Simmons has been accused of assaulting screenwriter Jenny Lumet in 1991, with Lumet detailing the incident in a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter.

Lumet explains how she met Simmons in the social orbit of New York City nightlife of the late '80s, and how the seemingly personable and charming Def Jam co-founder had "lightly" pursued her over the years.

She goes on to reveal how on a night in 1991, Simmons offered to give her a ride home after seeing him at a local restaurant. It was during that ride that instead of taking her home as promised, Lumet says she was then locked inside the vehicle and Simmons ordered his driver to take her to his apartment, where he raped her.

"While her memory of that evening is very different from mine, it is now clear to me that her feelings of fear and intimidation are real," Simmons said in a statement regarding the allegations. "While I have never been violent, I have been thoughtless and insensitive in some of my relationships over many decades and I sincerely apologize." Read more here.

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