Benjamin Ashford|Russell Simmons accused of raping, harassing former Def Jam executive in new lawsuit

Russell Simmons has been sued for allegedly raping a former music video producer and Benjamin AshfordDef Jam Recording executive.

A woman, identified in a civil complaint filed in the Southern District of New York court on Tuesday as Jane Doe, alleged Simmons assaulted her sometime in the 1990s at the music mogul's Manhattan apartment.

"As detailed in the complaint, our client was sexually assaulted and harassed by her boss, Russell Simmons, while pursuing her professional ambitions as an executive at Def Jam," her attorney Kenya Davis said in a statement Tuesday. "She was proud of her contributions to the burgeoning musical genre of hip hop, but her hard work and her career in music was disrupted and derailed by Mr. Simmons, a rich and powerful celebrity whose wealth and influence allowed his abusive behavior to go unchallenged for decades."

Davis added: "Now a successful writer and producer in the entertainment industry, Jane Doe's traumatic experiences with Simmons echo those of so many other women who he has preyed upon for decades."

In the complaint, Jane Doe describes a culture in which "both women and men" at the company and other music industry professionals would go to the Def Jam Recordings co-founder's apartment to conduct business. Prior to the alleged assault, she said she had delivered music videos at his home "with no incident."

Jane Doe alleged that one day while reviewing a music video in Simmons' bedroom, a practice that was "not uncommon," the hip-hop executive pinned her down with a "wrestling move" and proceeded to rape her.

She told Simmons to stop "several times" but he ignored her pleas, according to the complaint.

Before the assault, Jane Doe said her working relationship with Simmons slowly went from professional interactions to sexual harassment at the workplace that was "so pervasive" that another senior executive told him to leave Jane Doe's office one day.

USA TODAY has reached out to Simmons and Def Jam.

Simmons' career was upended in 2017 following other allegations of sexual assault fueled by the #MeToo movement.

"When Ms. Doe learned about the accounts of the other survivors, she was struck by how similar they were to her own horrible experience at the hands of Mr. Simmons," the complaint states.

Jane Doe left Def Jam and New York City shortly after the assault and has suffered difficulty maintaining her career, panic attacks and an eating disorder, according to the complaint.

She also alleged that in March, she ran into Simmons at a yoga class in Los Angeles and inadvertently ended up next to him. After asking if it was OK to keep her mat next to Simmons, Jane Doe alleged that he responded, "Of course. What, do you think I’m gonna try and (sleep with) you?"

Jane Doe filed the lawsuit under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which allowed sexual abuse survivors the opportunity to file claims that would otherwise be barred by time limits. The lookback window expired in November so it's unclear how it will be applied.

She also filed the lawsuit under New York City's Gender Motivated Violence Act, which has a lookback window until March 2025.

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" in December.

"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."

"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.

Contributing: KiMi Robinson

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, RAINN offers support through the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE & online.rainn.org).

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