In an op-ed published in The Hollywood Reporter, famed screenwriter Jenny Lumet – known for her work on Rachel Getting Married and The Mummy – has become the second women to come forward to accuse music and media mogul Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct. Simmons has responded to the second allegation by stepping down from the businesses he had founded, including Def Jam. Following an accusation from model Keri Claussen Khalighi in which she claims Simmons forced her to engage in sexual activity against her will, he issued a statement that “I have never committed any acts of aggression or violence in my life. I would never knowingly cause fear or harm to anyone.”
Lumet wrote that around 1987 she met Simmons through the mutual connection of producer Rick Rubin. She claims that after they were introduced, Simmons began to pursue her “lightly” over the course of several years – she claims he even said he had a thing for a “little yellow girl.” She rebuffed his pursuit and states that she figured that because he had many women in his orbit, it wasn’t a deep attraction.
After known Simmons for several years, in 1991 as a 24-year old, Lumet states that she went to a restaurant with a group of people that included Simmons. Towards the end of the night, she claims that Simmons offered her a ride, which she accept in part because she assumed she would not be the only person in the vehicle with him. She makes it clear she was simply accepting a ride home: “At no time that night did I say: ‘Russell, I will go home with you.’ Or ‘Come home with me.’ Or ‘I will have sex with you.’ Or ‘I have the desire to have sex with you.'”
She told the driver her address and according to Lumet, Simmons simply said “No,” repeatedly. Then, Lumet claims, the doors locked. As the traveled to Simmons’ home, she described her feelings, “I felt dread and disorientation. I wanted to go home. I said I wanted to go home. I didn’t recognize the man next to me. I didn’t know if the situation would turn violent. I remember thinking that I must be crazy. I remember hoping that the Russell I knew would return any moment.”
Lumet claims the driver pulled up to a back entrance where Simmons lived and was maneuvered into an elevator. She says the driver did not enter the elevator, and Simmons “pressed me into the corner with [his] body, [his] hands and [his] mouth. Fearing for her safety, once Lumet was in Simmons’ bedroom she “simply did what I was told.” She alleges that he did penetrate her and when he had difficulty staying erect, she feared he would become frustrated and violent.
In the years after the alleged assault, Lumet describes the relationship as “striving for normalcy.” She says she neither sought him out nor ran when she saw he was at the same place as her. Despite the cordial nature of their relationship, Lumet says that any experience which involved Simmons’ presence was tainted: the Vanity Fair Party after the 2005 Academy wards which honored her father with the Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2009 NAACP Image Awards, a pre-party at the 2011 Academy Awards.”
Simmons responded to her allegations with a statement, indicating that while he remembers the night differently than she did, he has come to recognize that the “feelings of fear and intimidation” felt by Lumet are real. He apologizes for being thoughtless and insensitive in his relationships.
He then concluded his statement by removing himself from his businesses: “The voices of the voiceless, those who have been hurt or shamed, deserve and need to be heard. As the corridors of power inevitably make way for a new generation, I don’t want to be a distraction, so I am removing myself from the businesses that I founded.” His companies will continue on under new leadership, while the media mogul says he will “commit [himself] to continuing my personal growth, spiritual learning and above all to listening.”
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