Russell Simmons’ accusers take their stories to ‘Megyn Kelly Today’

Sherri Hines and Natashia Williams-Blach detail their alleged stories of sexual assault

Dec 20, 2017

On Tuesday, the woman who accused Russell Simmons of raping her in his office in the 1980s revealed new details about her experience.

At the time, Sherri Hines was 17 or 18 and part of an all-female hip-hop group. Around 1983, Hines said, Simmons invited her to his office for what she thought would be a business meeting.

‘I felt used’

As Hines recalled the experience, she said that she was “pinned down” on Simmons’ couch and couldn’t get away.

“I was trying to maneuver and get out of it,” Hines said during an appearance on NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today.” “He just held me down…. Next thing I know, my pants was down and he was having his way.”

Hines said that Simmons didn’t stop even when she told him “no.” When he “finished,” she ran crying from his office to find a friend.

When her friend told her to talk to her mother, she didn’t want to. She was worried that she would end up carrying the blame for what happened.

“I felt embarrassed, I felt used, worthless,” she said. “The way I felt at the time was … I can’t believe this man just violated me like I was nothing.”

Other women have come forward

Thus far, 12 women total have come forward to accuse Simmons of sexual misconduct. Five of them say he raped them.

One of those accusers, Natashia Williams-Blach, also came with Hines on the show to speak about her experience. She said that she was 18 when Simmons tried to force her into oral sex after a yoga class.

“If I could see that 18-year-old girl today, of course, I would assure her that it’s not her fault,” Williams-Blach said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ3GFvdEs-U

Simmons denies the allegations

Using the hashtag #NotMe, a play on the #MeToo movement sweeping the country, Simmons categorically denied ever raping anyone.

“I will prove without any doubt that I am innocent of all rape charges,” Simmons wrote in an Instagram post last week. “My intention is not to diminish the #MeToo movement in anyway, but instead hold my accusers accountable.”