Russell Simmons not allowed to return to NYC yoga studio amidst sexual misconduct allegations

A Manhattan yoga studio has asked Russell Simmons not to return to their establishment after his presence makes other students upset in the wake of #MeToo allegations.

Shawn Grant

Sep 16, 2019

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Russell Simmons will not be getting his downward dog on at a Manhattan-based yoga studio after he was reportedly banned because his presence triggered several patrons amidst the legendary producer’s 12 accusations of rape and sexual misconduct.

The former music and fashion titan received an email from Modo Yoga NYC asking him to not return their location in West Village.

Simmons has been living in Bali as of late, where he he has been laying low after several allegations surfaced against him. During a recent visit to Manhattan for the past few weeks, Simmons took classes at Modo.

“The management invited me, and then said that my presence had ‘triggered some members,'”Simmons told The Post.

The owners of Modo responded to the news of Simmons’ ousting: “We do not pass judgment, gossip or comment on any of our students . . . However, when we receive complaints from students who are uncomfortable because of another student’s alleged conduct outside of Modo, we are put in a difficult position.”

Page Six details that Simmons return to New York has been met with a mostly warm reception over the past few weeks. He was first seen in the Hamptons, then at the home of former Def Jam partner and music executive Lyor Cohen. Other locations for Simmons has been the Up and Down nightclub and grabbing a bite at Blue Fin in Times Square.

Returning to the music scene, Simmons also made a visit to the office of 300 Entertainment as a guest of former Def Jam president Kevin Liles.

“My reception has been heartwarming,” Simmons said. “People wanted to throw dinners for me at their houses in the Hamptons . . . I went to a Southampton event and it was all the bankers — you could have blown up all the money in the world at one time — and not one person said anything negative to me,” he told The Post.

Nonetheless, the reception at Modo is telling of how some people are feeling about Simmons these days. He is still engaged in a lawsuit with a woman who believes that he raped her in 1988. As he fights these allegations, Simmons isn’t just rolled up in a child pose ball. He continues to build his empire adding an international school of the yogic science, releasing his memoir, Confessions of a Hip Hop Yogi, and aims to buy back the Phat Farm brand, which he sold in 2004 for $140 million.

The memoir, which Simmons hopes to first publish in China, is stated to have a chapter titled “The Awakening,” where Simmons offers advice to other men on how to build bridges in the midst of fielding finger-pointing allegations.

“It’s about my advice for young men and the positivity that has come out of #MeToo and #TimesUp movement,” Simmons said. “If I want to service humanity, I want my book to be helpful.”

The book does not yet have an official publisher.