Three women have accused music producer Russell Simmons of rape, speaking out about incidents that occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The women — singer Tina Baker, music journalist Toni Sallie and label executive Drew Dixon — said Simmons behaved violently, cornered them at work or in his penthouse, sexually assaulted them, and stalled or derailed their careers in music. A fourth woman told the Times that Simmons groped her in 2014, after leading her and a friend to his hotel room.
“I vehemently deny all these allegations. These horrific accusations have shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual,” Simmons said in a statement to the Times.
In addition, five more women accused Simmons of sexual misconduct, sharing their stories with the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. One of them, Sherri Hines, accused Simmons of raping her in 1983. He denied all of their accusations.
Simmons stepped down from his company, Def Jam Recordings, in November after facing other accusations of sexual misconduct.
One accuser, model Keri Claussen Khalighi told the Los Angeles Times that Simmons had pulled off her clothes and coerced her into performing oral sex in 1991 and then penetrated her without her consent while she was in the shower. She was 17 at the time.
Simmons is one of dozens of men who have been accused of sexual harassment or assault in the wake of allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
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