Russell Simmons‘ former Def Jam employee who is accusing him of rape in the 1990s has filed documents asking a judge to dismiss the embattled mogul’s claims that he can’t be sued.
According to documents obtained by Rolling Stone on Monday (November 4), Jane Doe is pushing back on Simmons’ October 18 response to her lawsuit, where he said he can’t be sued in federal court because “he sold his last U.S. property in 2021 and now lives fully and legitimately in Bali under a permanent retirement visa granted by Indonesian authorities.”
AD LOADING...
“Defendant is running from the court’s jurisdiction to avoid taking accountability for his actions,” the docs read.
Doe says Simmons claimed just weeks earlier in a remote deposition for her case that he’s still actively working and still maintains office space in midtown Manhattan.
AD LOADING...
“He testified that he is building a business empire and needs a partner for his current projects but is thwarted in his active efforts in Dubai and Singapore because of the morality clauses those countries require,” the docs read.
Doe also noted that his residence in Indonesia, the Gdas Bali Health and Wellness Resort, is a business that he owns with fellow American investors.
AD LOADING...
“Actively building an empire means that defendant is ineligible for a retirement visa in Indonesia,” Doe’s filing states. “Any purported retirement visa requires recertification every few years that one is, in fact, retired. Building an empire and being retired are mutually exclusive.”
Doe also referenced Simmons’ May 2024 interview with AllHipHop where he claimed that he has chosen to live in Bali of his own accord, and not because he’s avoiding legal repercussions in the United States.
AD LOADING...
“People saying that I somehow can’t come home when I’m there all the time wears on you,” he’d said. “It wears on me after a while to keep hearing the same narrative, which is false. I’m always in LA, I’m always in New York and Miami. And I’ve never had any reason to feel unsafe in America.”
A judge has yet to rule on Simmons’ request for dismissal.
AD LOADING...
As previously reported, a woman who served as an executive at Def Jam during the ’90s sued the mogul for sexual harassment and rape in February. Filed under Jane Doe in New York federal court, the lawsuit alleges false imprisonment, battery, emotional distress and a violation of the state’s gender-motivated violence law.
The plaintiff claims that the Queens native invited her to his apartment for work, started wrestling with her “in an attempt to appear playful” soon after and then pinned her down on a bed aggressively.
“Ms. Doe repeatedly told Mr. Simmons to get off of her, but he refused,” court documents state. “Mr. Simmons proceeded to rape her.”
Following that, the Hip Hop businessman allegedly continued to torment his employee at the workplace despite others telling him to stop, ultimately forcing her to resign in 1997.
AD LOADING...
“He would sit on her desk, lean over her, aggressively invading her personal space while making sexual innuendos, suggestions, and advances, and rubbing the front of his pants,” the paperwork reads. “Mr. Simmons would follow Ms. Doe to the door or block her path to prevent her from opening it again.”
