Russell Simmons is looking to drain HBO of every dollar it has. Earlier this week, he posted a demand on Threads, insisting that the network pony up $100 million. He didn’t specify why, but he did reference a previous lawsuit he has against them. “HBO you owe me 100s of millions of dollars,” Simmons wrote. “I need my bread, for all my charities and family members, specifically my children. You know what you did was horrific and malicious. You can’t hide. Ask Oprah or anyone [who’s] ever looked at the evidence (available in suit). You intentionally suppressed all of it. I want apology and 100 million. … Time to pay.”
The lawsuit Russell Simmons is referring to is one of defamation, revolving around the On The Record documentary. He alleges in the filing that the creators either “disregarded or suppressed” dozens of witnesses who would’ve disproved the sexual assault accusation against him. Moreover, Simmons claims former WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey willfully ignored “credible information” and political urging. Consequently, the mogul sought out $20 million from the proceedings.
Two years before the documentary aired live, Simmons moved to Bali. However, he vehemently denied the idea that he did so to avoid legal woes.
Russell Simmons Wants Compensation From HBO After Documentary Covered His Allegations
Simmons’ main defense was to address Black people directly and insist they remember the good he’s provided in the community. “Black people, did you forget that I got 10,000 Black men out of jail?” he said. “And that I changed the factory farming industry forever. And that I registered more of you to vote than probably anybody you know. And I worked for Black Lives Matter and every movement that’s helped our people, all the women’s rights, even gay rights. Movements that I did so much work for to let them demonize me in such a way that my friends cannot visit me without you attacking them.”
The allegations against Russell Simmons all stem from 20+ women accusing him of sexual assault. Former Def Jam A&R Drew Dixon recalled one night where Simmons was particularly violent after she requested to take a demo home. However, the mogul said it was in his bedroom, and things escalated uncomfortably from there. “The next thing I know, he’s naked, wearing a condom, and he just grabbed me,” she said. “He threw me on the bed, wrestles me to the bed, pins me down, and I’m fighting. I’m saying no.”
Afterwards, Dixon said she blacked out and woke up naked in a bathtub with Russell Simmons.
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