NEWS
Russell Simmons has been accused of falsifying a settlement document with the plaintiff in the sexual assault case that was filed against him earlier this year.
According to an amended complaint filed on Tuesday (April 30) and obtained by HipHopDX, Simmons reportedly admitted to Ms. Doe that he was “sorry for what he’d done,” and that he wanted to settle the case without attorney involvement.
But the Jane Doe in this case also accused the embattled mogul of falsifying a settlement document and submitting it to the court.
“The document is an Adobe pdf file titled “Agreement – Jane Doe v. Russell Simmons,” although the words “[Doe] – Executed Document.pdf” also appear in the body of the file at the top of each page. The metadata for the file states “Created: March 24, 2024.” The document is dated “January 9, 1997” at the top of each page, but states “[Jane Doe] 1-6-97” at the bottom of each page,” read the complaint.
“In addition to the discrepancy with the date and file name, a completely different employee’s name is listed at the top of page 3. The initials on each page are not Ms. Doe’s handwriting. The document is on Rush Associated Label letterhead as opposed to Def Jam’s letterhead. There is no date accompanying the signature of Russell Simmons or Lyor Cohen (President of Def Jam in 1997).”
Check out the documents below.
Filed under Jane Doe in New York federal court, the lawsuit alleges false imprisonment, battery, emotional distress and a violation of the state’s gender-motivated violence law.
The plaintiff claims that the Queens native invited her to his apartment for work, though he started wrestling with her “in an attempt to appear playful” soon after and then pinned her down on a bed aggressively.
“Ms. Doe repeatedly told Mr. Simmons to get off of her, but he refused,” court documents state. “Mr. Simmons proceeded to rape her.”
Following that, the Hip Hop businessman allegedly continued to torment his employee at the workplace despite others telling him to stop, ultimately forcing her to resign in 1997.
“He would sit on her desk, lean over her, aggressively invading her personal space while making sexual innuendos, suggestions, and advances, and rubbing the front of his pants,” the paperwork reads. “Mr. Simmons would follow Ms. Doe to the door or block her path to prevent her from opening it again.”
In a statement shared with HipHopDX, the plaintiff’s attorney Kenya K. Davis shared: “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.
“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.
“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.”
Haim have offered an early glimpse into their next album, telling NME that New York has been fueling their creativity and that they are “always writing”.
Also read: Este Haim discusses scoring Bella Ramsey film Sunny Dancer and Haim’s fifth album shaped by New York
The Los Angeles group, featuring siblings Danielle, Este and Alana Haim, put out their fourth studio album, ‘I Quit’, during the summer of 2025.
During a recent conversation with NME, Este spoke about creating the soundtrack for the new Bella Ramsey movie Sunny Dancer with Zachary Dawes, known for his work with Lana Del Rey and The Last Shadow Puppets. The bassist was also asked whether Haim had started developing fresh music.
“Haim business is open for business, 24 hours, seven days a week,” the musician responded. “We’re always writing, we’re always thinking about what the next thing is going to sound like.”
Still, Este indicated that the sisters are not rushing into their fifth album and plan to give themselves enough space to discover new ideas. She explained that she “just want[s] to live in it a little bit and experience life”.
“I want to revel in being married for a minute,” Este went on. “I didn’t get married until I was 39, so now I want to enjoy it and stop and smell the roses for a little bit.”
Discussing what has been sparking ideas for Haim and possibly influencing the direction of their upcoming project, Este pointed to the time she has spent in New York and the friendships she has been able to revisit there.
“I’ve really found New York to be very inspiring. Being here and reconnecting with friends that I went to college with and didn’t have the chance to hang out with because I was living in LA has been really great.
“And the energy in New York, I’ve really been thriving in it. You go outside of your door and you’re in the shit; you are in the flow whether you like it or not. I’ve found it really inspiring – just the energy and the sounds of New York, it’s so different for me.”
Asked how those surroundings might eventually translate into Haim’s music, Este kept the details under wraps, saying: “We’ll have to wait and see! I don’t know the answers yet, but I’m having a great time figuring it out!”
Este has also worked with Christopher Stracey on the music for the upcoming Callum Turner film One Night Only. Her previous composing credits include Netflix’s Maid and the Sydney Sweeney romantic comedy Anyone But You.
She takes on the role of Aura in Sunny Dancer as well. Meanwhile, her sister and fellow Haim member Alana Haim has appeared in The Mastermind, The Drama and One Battle After Another within roughly the last year.
Haim marked the arrival of ‘I Quit’ last summer by playing an unannounced performance at Glastonbury Festival. After completing a run of North American dates, the trio embarked on a UK arena tour later that year.
‘I Quit’ earned a place on NME’s ranking of the 50 best albums released in 2025, while ‘Relationships’ was included among the publication’s standout songs of the year. A deluxe version followed in October, adding ‘Tie You Down’, a collaboration with Bon Iver.
Awarding the original release four stars, NME said: “‘I Quit’ is set at a crossroads in the grieving process, when lessons have already been learned, but the pain of memories still linger.
“But this is still a Haim album, and their songs never linger on despair, are never far from the warmth of their sisterhood. They’re no longer the pop group you once knew, but this record is proof that sometimes, you really do need to let go in order to grow.”
