Three women are speaking out about their alleged experiences over the years with music mogulRussell Simmons, whom they are claiming raped them.
In an interview withCBS This Morning, Drew Dixon, Sil Lai Abrams and Alexia Norton Jones — who were interviewed for a related as-yet-untitled documentary, set to premiere at theSundance Film Festivalthis month — opened up to CBS News correspondentMichelle Millerabout Simmons, describing his behavior toward them directly as “rape.”
“This is penetral rape,” said Jones, to which Dixon followed up with, “This is violently tackled and raped — while saying no and fighting and crying.”
Simmons made his feelings about the documentary known on social media in December when he shared a photo of himself andOprah Winfrey(whopulled out as an executive producerlast week) from a previousSuper Soul Sundaysession in which he was a guest.
Simmons, 62, denied the allegations that he had “forced” himself on women in his post, writing, “I am guilty of exploiting, supporting, and making the soundtrack for a grossly unequal society, but i have neverbeen violent or forced myself on anyone. Still I am here to help support a necessary shift in power and consciousness. Let us get to work on uplifting humanity and put this moment and old narrative behind us.”
In Dixon’s case, she says Simmons allegedly forced himself onto her 25 years ago. As she recalled, “I literally worked for him. He was ordering me a car, and he told me to come upstairs and pick up a demo. I thought I would be in his apartment for five total minutes. That’s it.”
“And he showed up naked, wearing a condom, and tackled me to his bed, whileI screamed and fought and said, ‘No,’and cried. That’s rape,” Dixon continued.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
CBS This Morning; Mireya Acierto/FilmMagic
Abrams claims Simmons raped her in 1994, explaining the two sometimes dated but “it was nothing serious.”
“He’ll say, ‘Yes, we had a sexual relationship,’ but he cannot address the fact that I was too drunk to consent, and that the next day I called him up, screaming. And I attempted suicide. He knew,” Abrams told Miller. “And I told him why: That he had ruined my life, and that I had nothing.”
Jones alleged, through tears,that Simmons raped her on theirfirst date in 1991, “right up against the f—ing wall,” and she felt she “had to keep this secret.” (The two did not date again afterward.)
“This was a very swift attack, and what was going through my mind more than anything was, ‘Why?’ ” she said. “I liked Russell. … I would’ve just kissed him. I would’ve made out with him. He didn’t have to attack me.”
“I have also provided sworn statements and pointed out fatal flaws and inconsistencies in written accounts, some published in their own books, to reputable media organizations which have acted responsibly,” he continued. “I have admitted to being a massively unconscious ‘playboy’ which today is appropriately titled ‘womanizer.’ ”
Shareif Ziyadat/FilmMagic
In the statement, Simmons said, “Continuing to live my life honorably as an open book for decades, devoid of any kind of violence against anyone, as has been documented and examined in detail worldwide since the very early days of hip hop, which is my life’s testimony and work.”
source: people.com
