Russell Simmons has admitted to being less than a gentleman in his past — but flat-out denied ever sexually assaulting anyone.
In a new interview with Graham Bensinger, Russell Simmons — who has been accused of sexually assaulting several women in the past — was asked why so many women came forward with rape claims “if the allegations weren’t true.”
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“I was quite frivolous,” the exiled mogul replied. “You know, there’s a song by Whodini, you know? ‘I’m a hoe, I’m a hoe, three different girls after every show.’ Culturally, we thought that was the right way. And the number of sexual partners and compromising positions I put myself in is beyond anybody’s imagination.”
He continued: “I think it was cultural, and silly, and egotistic, and sad, and from an insecurity that feeds it. There’s a lot of reasons why we were that way. If you slept with as many people as I slept with — thousands — we’re only talking about six people.”
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“I spoke poorly to 15 of them,” he continued. “I mean, 12 of them. I spoke poorly all the time. I’m a Def Comedy Jam guy. I was crude. So how many compromising situations was I in? […] I can simply tell you, I was in so many compromising situations. People can have a recollection from 30 or 40 years ago, and it can be different from my recollection.”
“I took nine lie detector tests, people don’t know that,” he concluded. “Nine separate — seven from the Chairman of the Polygraph Association. One for each and serious accusation.”
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Simmons went on to say that he took one test for each accusation — with nine accusations in total — to prove he was telling the truth.
“When someone said, for instance, I was violent — one person said that — and I’ve never been violent. Took that. And one said I apologized. I never apologized about assaulting anyone. But if two people say it, because one said it, and #metoo, and the second person said it, then I took a test for it,” he said.
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He added: “Three hours per test by two polygraph examiners — one that I’ve never done this to anyone and one, I’ve never done to each individual.
“Some people say that they’re not accurate, but it’s 94 percent accurate. I did nine of them, it’s pretty clear that I don’t believe it. I even asked if, ‘Well, what if I believe it, but it’s not true?’ He said, ‘Your subconscious will get you.’ I don’t know how true that is, but that’s what was told to me by the Chairman of the Polygraph Association.”
The In Depth with Graham Bensinger segment addressing the sexual assault claims began with a clip of a CBS This Morning roundtable interview with Drew Dixon, Alexia Norton Jones, and Sil Lai Abrams — three of the several women who accused the Phat Farm founder of sexual assault — that aired back in January 2020.
In the clip, the women take turns sharing graphic details of their alleged assaults by Simmons, with Jones detailing how Simmons allegedly “threw [her] right up against the fucking wall” before breaking down in tears.
Dixon then details how the mogul allegedly “showed up naked, wearing a condom, and tackled me to his bed, while I screamed, and fought, and said no.”
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Russell Simmons’ latest denial comes after the first one he issued back in 2017, and he’s continued to maintain his innocence ever since.
“Today, I begin to properly defend myself,” he wrote on Instagram back in December 2017. “I will prove without any doubt that I am innocent of all rape charges. Today, I will focus on ‘The Original Sin’ (Keri Claussen), the claim that created this insane pile on of my #MeToo. Stay tuned! We’ll share information today… And tomorrow the case of Jenny Lumet.”
He continued: “My intention is not to diminish the #MeToo movement in anyway, but instead hold my accusers accountable. #NotMe Again, this is not a movement against or even in conjunction with #Metoo. It’s just a statement about my innocence.”
Elsewhere in the same Graham Bensinger interview, Simmons claimed that his ex-wife, Baby Phat founder and model Kimora Lee Simmons, stole money from him to get her current husband out of jail on bail.
“I must’ve been a shit partner, from what I hear,” he told Bensinger. “No. I was very generous and tried to be supportive. We were together 15 years, Kimora and I. And for eight years, we were married. And together for seven, before that. And then, I was best friends with Kimora throughout the entire raising of my children.”
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Despite the seemingly idyllic setting, however, the mogul said it didn’t take long for the whole situation to go left.
“So, I tried to be flexible, and accommodating, and supportive,” he continued. “And sometimes, things don’t work out. You’ve seen the lawsuit. I had no choice. I think Jesus Christ, Lord Buddha, anybody would have sued. […] She gave what is now, today, based on the value of the stock, $800million to the government illegally, and now I’m fighting to get my half of it back.”
