Russell Simmons sued for millions over alleged rape

Jan 25, 2018

A woman accusing Russell Simmons of sexual assault is now suing him for $5 million.

Jennifer Jarosik claimed that Simmons propositioned her for sex in 2016 after inviting her to his house. When she refused, he allegedly pushed her onto the bed. When she fought back, she claimed that he knocked her off the bed and hit her in the head before forcing himself on her.

Jarosik, who claimed to have met Russell Simmons in 2006, said that she was in “shock and fear” when Simmons raped her. She also claimed that she was “sick, sore, lame, disabled and disordered, both internally and externally and suffered from extreme emotional distress.”

Now, according to TMZ, she is suing for punitive damages as well as unspecified actual damages.

Multiple accusers file police reports

Earlier this month, two accusers filed police reports with the NYPD claiming that Russell Simmons raped them.

One of the women, Sherri Hines, told the Los Angeles Times last year that Simmons had raped her in his New York office when she was part of the Mercedes Ladies hip-hop group.

Hines later recalled on Megyn Kelly’s daytime talk show how she was only 17 or 18 when Simmons invited her into his office. She said that she went because she thought he wanted to talk about a record deal.

Instead, she said, she was “pinned down” on his couch and raped.

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

The second woman has chosen to remain anonymous. According to TMZ, who reported on the police reports, the alleged rape took place in 1991 after the woman and Russell Simmons had gone out on a date.

TMZ reported that the woman said she was 32 when they went back to his Manhattan home together. She claimed that he tried to take off her dress while they were seated on the couch, but she rejected his advances. He then pushed her down and forcibly raped her.

The site also reported that, of the 14 women accusing Simmons of rape, 7 of them are working with the NYPD. Since there is no statute of limitations in New York for rape, even older assaults can still be investigated.

Simmons denies the allegations

Russell Simmons has stepped back from his company but continues to maintain his innocence and has denied that he ever raped anyone.

He even used the hashtag #NotMe in a social media post claiming he was using it to clear his name. The post received massive backlash for appearing to co-opt the #MeToo movement.

“My intention is not to diminish the #MeToo movement in anyway, but instead hold my accusers accountable,” Russell Simmons explained.