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.”
Perry Farrell has released another public apology following an on-stage confrontation involving his bandmate Dave Navarro.
The Jane's Addiction frontman was involved in a physical altercation with guitarist Dave Navarro last year during a live performance, an incident that prompted the band to cancel their reunion tour and eventually led to their split.
“I'd like to address what happened on stage last year,” Perry, 66, said in a statement shared across both his personal Instagram account and Jane's Addiction’s official page. “I've reflected on it and know I didn't handle myself the way I should have. I apologize to our patrons and my bandmates for losing my temper and for disrupting the show.”
He went on to admit that he did not meet fan expectations and described himself as deeply remorseful toward everyone impacted by the incident.
“Jane's Addiction has been at the center of my life for decades. The band, the songs, the patrons, and the impact that we've had on music and culture mean more to me than any words I could ever possibly write down,” he shared.
“My aim has always been to give our audience the best possible show, something real, honest and positive. In Boston, we fell short of that, and I'm truly sorry to everyone who was impacted.”
Jane's Addiction also issued its own statement regarding the altercation, which ultimately led to the group’s remaining members filing a lawsuit against Perry alleging assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract.
“Today we are here to announce that we have come together one last time to resolve our differences, so that the legacy of Jane's Addiction will remain the work the four of us created together,” the band wrote, signaling that the group would not move forward with Perry. “We now look forward to the future as we embark on our separate musical and creative endeavors.”
