Russell Simmons speaks out on 2017 rape, assault allegations: 'The climate was different'

Former record executive Russell Simmons continues to deny allegations from 2017, in which at least a dozen women claimed he raped or sexually assaulted them over the course of several decades.

The Def Jam Recordings co-founder – who stepped down from his various businesses and philanthropies following the accusations – sat down for a wide-ranging interview on "In Depth with Graham Bensinger."

Several clips released Wednesday show that during their conversation, which at times bordered on adversarial, the 66-year-old discussed the 2017 allegations fueled by the Me Too movement, his career in the music industry and his relationship with ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons and their two children. Simmons now mainly resides in Bali, Indonesia.

"I've never been violent to anybody," Simmons said. "Of course I've been insensitive, but certainly never been forceful in any of my relationships, all of which I've had have been consensual."

Russell Simmons calls Me Too 'a great movement'

The interview with Bensinger, which was filmed in Bali, Indonesia, in September and will broadcast in syndication in full this weekend, marks Simmons not having "spoken to anyone for five years."

"It's ruined my life," he said of the 2017 accusations. "It's ruined my relationships with everything. All my five charities have gone down."

Simmons revealed he's "slept with" "thousands" of people, and over the years "I was in so many compromising situations that people can have a recollection from 30 or 40 years ago, and it can be different from my recollection."

He claims to have undergone "nine lie detector tests," in which he attested to having "never done this to anyone," including answering to each individual woman's accusations. Simmons has previously mentioned in statements, which were issued in response to accusations made in 2017 and 2018, that unspecified lie-detector tests have proven his innocence.

Simmons did not specify which organization he worked with but has previously mentioned the California Association of Polygraph Examiners. USA TODAY has reached out to the association for comment.

The music mogul said the number of sexual partners he's had was in part due to the culture at the time. "I think that the culture and the climate was different, and the way people interacted was different. I think to judge 40 years ago as if it was today, we get in trouble," Simmons told Bensinger. "We have to accept where we were and move on and be somewhere else in the future if we don't like where we were. And I think we're doing that now. And I think that's the good that comes with Me Too."

"It's a great movement," he added. "It's done a lot of great work for women. It sensitized men in ways they were not sensitized, and for that I'm grateful."

That said, Simmons also argued that there's a gray area "in the real world": "Being pushy is different from pushing someone. It's very gray," he said.

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Russell Simmons' accusers stand by their claims

"In Depth with Graham Bensinger" reached out to Simmons' named accusers, according to the episode, and received responses from four of the women: Drew Dixon, Sheri Sher, Sil Lai Abrams and Jenny Lumet. All four said in written statements that they stood by their claims.

Lumet, a screenwriter, wrote in a guest column published by The Hollywood Reporter that the Def Jam co-founder allegedly forced her to have sex in 1991. Abrams, a former Def Jam assistant who allegedly had a prior sexual relationship with Simmons, told THR that Russell Simmons raped her in 1994, an experience she had previously detailed in a 2007 book without using real names.

Sher, a founding member of the first all-female hip-hop group Mercedes Ladies, came forward in a Los Angeles Times exposé alleging Simmons raped her in his office around 1983 but did not come forward due to the fear of backlash from the rap community.

Dixon, who was formerly an executive at Def Jam, was one of three women who came forward in a New York Times article detailing rape accusations against Simmons. In November, she accused Antonio "L.A." Reid of sexually assaulting her while he was the chief executive of Arista Records, where she worked.

In his sit-down with Bensinger, Simmons said he hasn't been sued in the one-year window during which New York's Adult Survivors Act allowed sexual abuse survivors the opportunity to file claims that would otherwise be barred by time limits. According to the New York State Courts e-filing website, no lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct have been filed against Simmons in the past year.

Simmons still speaks to the adult children shared with ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons

Simmons, in a separate clip, reflected on his relationship with his two children, Ming Lee Simmons, 23, and Aoki Lee Simmons, 21, amid his financial legal battles with their mother. Earlier this year, Aoki and Kimora Lee Simmons took to social media to accuse Russell Simmons of abusive behavior.

"I speak to them behind (Kimora Lee Simmons') back almost every day," he told Bensinger. "And I still support them, but it's tough. They started to receive a different narrative and started to really be more difficult to manage my relationship with them."

Simmons also said he is sending financial support so his daughters can live in Manhattan. "I love them more than I love everything," he said.

Though he lives in Bali, Simmons said he often returns to the U.S. This year, he was photographed in Los Angeles at City of Hope's 2023 Spirit of Life Gala as well as MusiCares' 2024 Person of the Year gala. "Because I left and I spend so much time here, people assumed that I really left and ran even though I'm back in America all the time," he said.

If you are a victim of domestic violence, The National Domestic Violence Hotline (thehotline.org) allows you to speak confidentially with trained advocates online or by the phone, which they recommend for those who think their online activity is being monitored by their abuser (800-799-7233). They can help survivors develop a plan to achieve safety for themselves and their children.

Safe Horizon's hotline (safehorizon.org) offers crisis counseling, safety planning, and assistance finding shelters (800-621-HOPE (4673). It also has a chat feature where you can reach out for help from a computer or phone confidentially. 

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