By now, everyone has heard about the rape allegations brought against Russell Simmons. Quite a few women claim the former Def Jam CEO was a very busy man back in the early 90s but it had nothing to do with work or the massive empire he’s built. Russell is being hit with some serious allegations and now another one is accusing him of rape. According to New York Daily News, PR maven Kelly Cutrone has also come forward with graphic details about a night in 1991.
Attempted Rape:
It has been reported that Russell Simmons allegedly tried to rape Cutrone in his apartment. On Thursday, December 14, Cutrone was interviewed by Page Six. During her discussion with the publication, Cutrone – a former reality star featured on The Hills and America’s Next Top Model – vividly described a harrowing night at Simmons’ apartment.
At the time, Cutrone, who was 26, knew Simmons, then 34, through an acquaintance. On that evening, she ran into him at a party. The two walked together to another party and after leaving the second venue, Simmons reportedly invited Cutrone to his apartment. She stated that she declined and Simmons, then, asked her if she’d go with him to drop something off at a friend’s home and she agreed. However, she now believes the home they arrived to was actually Simmons’ apartment and the
“He pushed me into his apartment and then he threw me down on the floor and literally tried to grab… take my clothes off of me,” she told Page Six. “And I started kicking him really, really hard, screaming, telling him to get the f— off of me. And that I would have him killed if he ever f—— laid a hand on me,” she recalled, adding that the idea of going to the police felt “overwhelming” at the time.
A Repeated Story:
Tatijana Shoan, a friend of Cutrone’s also told Page Six she remembered her telling her ex-husband, Ronnie Cutrone, about the sexual assault she suffered at the hands of Simmons. “[Simmons] was just really shaken up and I f–king split. I remember running out the door and getting a cab and all I remember was that I got in a cab and I remember a feeling — which was so crazy — of, ‘Oh my god. Somebody just tried to rape me. What do I do?’ And then the energy of going to the police and pressing charges against him was overwhelming to me.”
She added, “Then what would happen afterward — and this would happen years afterward — I’d be at a table and Russell f–king Simmons would come up to the table and then people would be like, ‘Kelly, do you know Russell?,’ and I’d be like, ‘Yes, I know Russell — he tried to rape me.’”
Following the latest interview, Cutrone posted a photo of herself beside the famed businessman with the hashtag #MeToo. She’s also posted to Instagram in support of the #MeToo campaign.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BctEGHtla26
https://www.instagram.com/p/BctBhuqlLoG/
Still Denying All Allegations:
In the wake of the recent allegations, Russell Simmons has released another statement. He is adamantly denying all allegations and insists these claims are now part of an attempt to extort him for money. “I am blessed to have shared extraordinary relationships, whether through work or love, with many great women; and I have enormous respect for the women’s movement worldwide and their struggle for respect, dignity, equality and power. I am devastated by any reason I may have given to anyone to say or think of me in the ways that are currently being described. In recent weeks, some former business, creative and romantic partners have aired grievances as claims I categorically reject. In some of these instances, financial motives and direct contradictory witness testimony has been supplied to the media, which has been completely left out of stories.
“In the last few days, one woman attempted to extort me for $500,000 only to recant her ridiculous claim. The current allegations sent to me by the New York Times and Los Angeles Times range from the patently untrue to the frivolous and hurtful. The presumption of innocent until proven guilty must not be replaced by ‘Guilty by Accusation,’” he wrote.
Russell Simmons could be facing a case similar to Bill Cosby’s if women keep coming forward. From the looks of it, Simmons has an uphill battle to fight.
