Russell Simmons Owes More Than $3 million To Sex Assault Accusers.
Russell Simmons owes more than $3 million to a pair of women who have accused the music mogul of sexual assault, according to new court records.
The two women, Toni Sallie and Alexia Norton Jones, filed confessions of judgment on Friday in New York County Supreme Court, part of confidential settlement agreements that they entered into with Simmons in 2023. According to the filings, Simmons owes Sallie roughly $3 million and Jones $200,000.
While the settlements — now public on the county docket — don’t explicitly state what the agreements are for, each woman has publicly accused Simmons of sexual assault in the past several years.
Sallie came forward with allegations against Simmons in 2017, telling the New York Times that she briefly dated the hip-hop star after meeting him on assignment as a music journalist in 1987. After their romantic relationship had ended, Sallie told the Times that the two remained cordial — until the following year, when Simmons invited her to his empty Manhattan apartment under the false pretenses of a party, took her into his bedroom and raped her.
“He pushed me on the bed and jumped on top of me, and physically attacked me,” she told the Times. “We were fighting. I said no.”
According to the court filings made public Friday, Sallie entered into a $3 million confidential settlement agreement with Simmons on Nov. 23, 2023.
“The parties and their counsel agree to keep strictly confidential and not to disclose to anyone … any information concerning or in any way relating to the claims which Sallie has alleged caused her injuries or damages,” the agreement read.
But Sallie claims in the newly released documents that Simmons is behind on his payments, only shelling out about $60,000 so far. She’s looking to reclaim the outstanding $2.94 million, plus 20% annualized interest that started accruing in February 2024.
In one document filed Friday, Sallie reminded Simmons and his counsel that, due to the possibility of litigation, they are “obligated to maintain, preserve, retain, protect, and not destroy any and all documents and data … that may be relevant to any claims asserted by Ms. Sallie concerning Simmons’s sexual assaults of her and/or anyone else.”
Jones has a similar story to Sallie’s. A former model and actress — as well as the granddaughter of renowned book publisher W.W. Norton — Jones went on a date with Simmons in 1990, according to an interview she gave to Variety in 2018.
The date ended with Simmons inviting Jones to see his new Midtown, Manhattan apartment, where Jones said he pinned her against the wall and assaulted her.
“It was such a fast attack,” she told Variety. “He pulled my dress up. I must have said no seven to 10 times.”
The new court records show that Jones entered into a confidential settlement agreement with Simmons on April 12, 2023, worth $300,000. She did so anonymously, being referred to throughout the settlement as Jane Doe. Simmons is referred to as John Roe.
Like Sallie’s, Jones’ agreement with Simmons doesn’t mention sexual assault specifically. It instead refers to the “alleged personal physical injuries and/or physical sickness, as well as … attendant emotional distress that Doe claims she has suffered.”
Simmons didn’t admit to wrongdoing in either settlement agreement. His legal representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
It’s not the first time the rap mogul has been accused of reneging on settlement agreements. Last October, three women made similar filings with the New York County Supreme Court, claiming that Simmons owed them $3 million in total. One of the women, journalist Sil Lai Abrams, had publicly claimed that Simmons raped her in 1994.
Simmons, 67, gained notoriety for co-founding the New York City rap label Def Jam Records alongside producer Rick Rubin. As the label’s longtime chairman, he helped Def Jam sign some of the biggest names in hip-hop like the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Jay-Z, DMX and Kanye West.
A Queens, New York, native, Simmons made $120 million when he sold his share of Def Jam to Universal Music Group in 1998.
Simmons stepped down from his role at Def Jam and numerous other organizations in 2017, when he was publicly accused of sexual assault by multiple women. More than 20 women in total, some as young as 17, have come forward with accusations of sexual misconduct against Simmons. S: Courthouse News