Russell Simmons took to social media on Wednesday evening (December 13) to vehemently deny a new round of sexual misconduct allegations that have been made against him by as many as 9 new women - four of whom say that Simmons raped them.
Accounts from the hip-hop mogul's latest accusers were published in two bombshell reports that reached the public via the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, respectively. The LA Times presented the stories of five women while the Times of New York shared allegations being made by four, who all say that Simmons used his power to exploit them in various instances that took place between 1983 and 2016.
Those who revealed that they were raped by Simmons include former Def Jam executive Drew Dixon, artist Tina Baker, Toni Sallie, and singer Sherri Hines. Others tell of Simmons approaching with uninvited advances and making requests that were sexual in nature.
But Simmons is maintaining that the accusations are not true, writing on Instagram that he has "never had a sexual encounter that was not consensual or lawful," and pleading that “The presumption of innocent until proven guilty must not be replaced by ‘Guilty by Accusation,’” in a letter he supplied the Times with.
