Russell Simmons has been at the center of controversy for the past few weeks. Whether it’s being accused of sexual misconduct or being accused of making statements to sexual assault victims, Russell hasn’t been making headlines for great reasons, these days. Now, he’s speaking out once again to clear his name. Why? Because in addition to a model by the name of Keri Khalighi, other women are now accusing him of some form of sexual misconduct. A few days ago Simmons adamantly denied Khalighi’s claims, after she said that although she willingly performed oral sex on him, he ‘briefly’ penetrated her without her consent and harassed her during her two day visit to his NY apartment. Now Simmons is publicly addressing the other claims as well. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Russell Simmons has penned an open letter in response to the allegations of sexual assault by Keri Claussen Khalighi and other accusers…

Russell’s Open Letter:

With all of the sexual misconduct allegations looming over Hollywood and the entertainment industry, Simmons has been relatively vocal about it all. Like he has on many other occasions, Simmons still vehemently insists he is not a sexual abuser and he stands with victims, commending those who shed light on sexual misconduct.

My longtime loathing of any form of violence and abuse has been woven into all of my personal interactions, as most who know me will attest,” Simmons wrote.

He went on to discuss the current situation and the accusations made by Khalighi. Simmons maintains that everything between him and Khalighi was consensual: “In my case, three witnesses [Anthony McNair and two anonymous witnesses] have signed statements that our experiences that weekend with Keri Claussen Khalighi 26 years ago were consensual. My longtime loathing of any form of violence and abuse has been woven into all of my personal interactions, as most who know me will attest.”

Simmons also claims Khalighi has never accused him of any type of misconduct until now: “In our meeting many years later, and subsequent conversations, Keri never accused me of what she has said publicly. She insisted I was not violent. She did tell me her boyfriend and many others found out about our long weekend together and she said she was ashamed by that discovery. I am sorry for the embarrassment she recounted to me.”

However, Simmons did admit he hasn’t always made the right choices where women are concerned.

“I have made choices that have offended some of the women in my life. It’s not cool to be a playboy and a new consciousness understands this. Now, as I hear these voices, I do as well. Though never abusive in any way, my remarks were often cavalier and thoughtless, and for this I am humbled. I am a work in progress. I am human. The fact that I come from the world of music or a specific place or generation justifies nothing.”

Keri’s Claims:

Simmons’ letter comes shortly after Keri Khalighi gave graphic statements about the night she claims she was sexually assaulted at Russell Simmons’ New York apartment back in 1991. The former model’s claims have been highly publicized because she was the first to make such allegations against the former Def Jam Recordings mogul.

According to People magazine, Khalighi is telling a totally different story from Simmons. During a recent interview, she detailed how she was allegedly assaulted by Simmons when she was 17-years-old in 1991 [FYI: the legal age of consent in N.Y. is 17…who knew?]. The former model believes Simmons and Brett Ratner used their music video as a ruse to lure her to his apartment.

“As the video was playing, Russell came over and started making advances and at the time, I thought it was a joke and it became increasingly apparent that it wasn’t a joke and he continued his advances,” Khalighi said. “I looked over at Brett at that point for help, and I will never forget the look on his face. It was in that moment that I realized, I think this was their plan all along, there was no help that was going to come.” She added, “My body was closed, I was frozen. I looked over at Brett and asked for help because I thought we were friends. It was a very confusing and terrifying moment.”