Russell Simmonsā Rape Accuser Blasts Claim Heās āRetiredā in Indonesia
US entrepreneur and writer Russell Simmons attends City of Hopeās 2023 Spirit of Life Gala at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California, October 18, 2023. ā Credit: Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images
A former Def Jam employee who says Russell Simmons pulled a āwrestling moveā and raped her in his New York apartment in the mid-1990s is asking a judge to reject the hip-hop mogulās claims he canāt be sued in federal court in New York because heās now a āstatelessā U.S. citizen whoās technically āretiredā in Indonesia.
āDefendant is running from the courtās jurisdiction to avoid taking accountability for his actions,ā the Jane Doe plaintiff says in a new court filing obtained by Rolling Stone. The woman says the court should have āserious doubtā about the āveracityā of Simmonsā claims in an Oct. 18 declaration that he sold his last U.S. property in 2021 and now lives fully and legitimately in Bali under a permanent retirement visa granted by Indonesian authorities.
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The Doe, who first sued Simmons last February, says the Def Jam founder sat for a ālimitedā remote deposition in her case on Sept. 26 and admitted heās still actively working and maintains ties to New York. She said he testified that he still pays the lease on a Manhattan apartment for his children and still maintains office space for a company he owns, Russell Simmons TV (RSTV, Inc.), in midtown Manhattan. She claims her investigation āuncoveredā that Simmons has an ownership stake in the property.
āHe testified that he is building a business empire and needs a partner for his current projects but is thwarted in his active efforts in Dubai and Singapore because of the morality clauses those countries require,ā her new filing states. Doe says Simmonsā alleged residence in Indonesia, the Gdas Bali Health and Wellness Resort, also is a business that he owns with fellow American investors. She further alleges Simmons still acts as a figurehead of global media company Gushcloud.
āActively building an empire means that defendant is ineligible for a retirement visa in Indonesia,ā Doe and her lawyers wrote in her Nov. 1 filing. āAny purported retirement visa requires recertification every few years that one is, in fact, retired. Building an empire and being retired are mutually exclusive.ā
Simmonsā lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. In a filing last month, Simmons and his legal team claimed he has been living in Indonesia since 2018. In her Friday filing, Doe included links to alleged evidence that she argued undermine the claim.
She said that as recently as May of this year, Simmons claimed in an interview with AllHipHop that he still considers the U.S. his āhome.ā Speaking to the hip-hop outlet, Simmons denied speculation that he fled the U.S. amid a wave of sexual abuse allegations and didnāt feel free to return. āPeople saying that I somehow canāt come home when Iām there all the time wears on you,ā Simmons said in the interview. āIt wears on me after a while to keep hearing the same narrative, which is false. Iām always in LA, Iām always in New York and Miami.ā
In her pending lawsuit, Doe says sheās one of more than 20 women to accuse Simmons of sexual assault or harassment. Simmons denies any wrongdoing and has claimed he passed ānine lie detector tests.ā
The judge overseeing the latest lawsuit did not immediately rule on Simmonsā request to have the complaint dismissed over his claim the court lacks jurisdiction.
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