Russell Simmons isn’t having a very easy time these days. Every week, there are more sexual misconduct allegations and it doesn’t look like his alleged victims will be backing down anytime soon. Although he’s adamantly denied the allegations, as well as passed a voluntary lie detector tests (which he also asked his accusers to take, but none have so far), the claims just keep coming. Now, two of his accusers are sharing graphic details about their disheartening interactions with the former Def Jam CEO. Actress, Natashia Williams-Blach, and musician, Sherri Hines, are now sharing their stories.
Raped At 17?:
On Tuesday, December 19, both Williams-Blach and Hines appeared on Megyn Kelly Today. Hines began by sharing her story. She revealed she met Simmons at a club back in 1983. Years later, she she says she accepted his offer to meet at his office because she wanted to know why he refused to sign her female rap group, Mercedes Ladies. But when she arrived at his office that day back in 1988, Simmons reportedly had no plans of discussing the record deal. Their encounter quickly took a disturbing turn, according to the accusers:
“My thought – I was like, I’m going to go. I want to know why you did us wrong, you know, as far as with the record deal. When I got there, he told me to sit down. And he sat down next to me. And it was weird because it just happened so fast. It was like, next thing you know, I’m being pinned down.”
https://twitter.com/MegynTODAY/status/943125354620837888
Hines claims that she attempted to fight back, but once she realized she couldn’t stop him, she gave in. She says she was completely devastated when she left his office and continued:
“He came to my home and met my mom. Was a single mom that had ten kids that she was raising. For him to do this. I ran back and I got my friend, Simone, and she was like, what happened? I was like, let’s go. But I was crying and I told her. And she’s like, ‘we have to tell your mom.’ I was like, ‘no. I’m not telling my mother. [She would ask] what did you go up there for?’ And she was going through things.”
Feeling Compelled To Speak:
Williams-Blach also spoke about her encounter with Simmons., stating that she initially did not want to speak publicly, but after reading Keri Claussen Khalighi’s story, she felt compelled to come forward: “I followed the story when it emerged. And I wasn’t going to say anything at all. I was going to stay on the sidelines and watch this unraveling,” Williams-Blach said. He said, “how can I be a rapist when I’m a yogi and a vegan?” I don’t know why that’s relevant, but it should be. I fell out of my seat. You can’t write this. You can’t make this up.’”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ3GFvdEs-U
For those who don’t know, Williams-Blach appeared in Simmons’s memorable film Def Jam’s How to Be a Player. She claims the incident happened back in 1997, around the time she was working with him on the film. He’d taken her to a yoga class in Los Angeles and afterward, he invited her to his home to watch a movie. But things quickly took a turn for the worse when she claims Simmons tried to force her to perform oral sex on him:
“We literally just went to yoga. We literally just did the downward dog before you acted like a dog. We had a moment. I just said, I know there’s a propensity for everyone to enshrine themselves, on the religious or the civic stuff. There is a lot of philanthropy coming from his side. There is a lot of good actions, good meaning intentions, but they become dirty by the other things done in the darkness.” She continued, “He pushes the crown of my head swiftly down while he’s got his hand on his zipper. It was just a few seconds.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bcr6U8AgyNL/
Williams-Blach and Hines are two of at least 12 women who have come forward with claims directed toward Simmons. But despite the growing number of alleged victims, who have shared similar stories about their encounters with Simmons, he still adamantly denies the allegations.
