HBO removes Russell Simmons’ name from All Def Comedy series
The network wipes its hands clean of mogul amid sexual harassment allegations
The network wipes its hands clean of mogul amid sexual harassment allegations
While HBO is still moving forward with the “All Def Comedy” stand-up series, they will be doing so without Russell Simmons.
On Thursday, the network confirmed that it had removed Simmons from the project, following allegations of sexual assault surrounding the star.
“HBO will be airing All Def Comedy as planned,” an HBO spokesperson said. “However, Russell Simmons will not appear in the new series and we will be removing his name from the show moving forward. The series is a platform for promising and upcoming comedians and we do not want to deprive them of an opportunity to showcase their talents to a national audience. We have no other projects with Russell Simmons.”
The comedy series is set to premiere this Friday, with six half-hour episodes ordered by HBO earlier this year. The series will be produced by Simmons’ All Def Digital.
Amid the allegations mounting against him, Simmons recently announced that he would be stepping down from his companies.
Simmons was accused by writer Jenny Lumet of forcing her to have sex with him in 1991. While Simmons said that he remembered the incident differently, he acknowledged that her “feelings of fear and intimidation are real” and has apologized to her.
