Women Who Accused Russell Simmons Of Sexual Assault Speak Out

Women who accused musician Russell Simmons of sexual assault have opened up about the struggles they went through after they came out with their terrifying stories. Def Jam Recordings executive Drew Dixon, Sil Lai Abrams, and Sheri Hines also explained why it is virtually impossible to have a #MeToo movement in the music industry.

In an interview with Variety, all three women opened up about the moment when Oprah Winfrey abandoned the movie “On The Record” for various reasons. As soon as Winfrey left the project, filmmaker Ava DuVernay said that Winfrey did not agree with the film’s content.

Talking about the matter, Dixon revealed that she has respect for both celebrities and is thankful for their amazing work in their respective fields. However, she also called out DuVernay for “critiquing” the efforts of another filmmaker.

Dixon further stated that the movie is not for celebrities, and she wants to know what “ordinary people” think of the film.

“I have tremendous respect for Oprah Winfrey and I have tremendous respect for Ava DuVernay. I remain grateful to them for all of their incredible work to move us forward in so many ways. But Ava has a lot of f–king nerve critiquing the work of another filmmaker — when black women are finally getting a chance to tell our story. The film has been thoroughly vetted and verified by many legal teams. It’s not for celebrities. It’s for other survivors,” Dixon said.

“On The Record” is a documentary based on allegations of sexual assault and harassment levied against Def Jam co-founder Simmons, and it features interviews of over 20 women who have reportedly been victimized by Simmons.

Later in the interview, Abrams explained why the music industry does not have a movement like #MeToo or #TimesUp to help women who have faced such brutalities. Abrams claimed that the music industry is such an “incestuous” field that people keep on sharing sexual partners.

“Music has not had a #Metoo movement because everybody literally and figuratively is in bed with each other. People are sharing sexual partners. Russell is outed as a predator, you just have to look at the people that are around him and know that they were also a part of it. They were present. They were facilitating. They were silent. They were complicit,” Abrams said.

Dixon was the first woman to accuse Simmons of sexual harassment in 2017. She was 24 when the alleged incident happened, and she said she was left broken after the “prolonged and aggressive” sexual assault by Simmons.