Less than two weeks after Russell Simmons announced he was “stepping aside” from his companies in the wake of sexual misconduct accusations, three more women have come forward against the music mogul.
Drew Dixon, Tina Baker and Toni Sallie accused the the Def Jam Records co-founder of rape in an explosive New York Times report published on Wednesday.
In the piece, Dixon (a former Def Jam Records employee), Sallie (a former music journalist) and Baker (a performer) say Simmons raped them in separate incidents that spanned from 1988 to 2014. These three women join two others who have gone on the record with sexual misconduct accusations against Simmons.
Dixon says Simmons raped her after previously telling her how she aroused him, exposing himself to her and asking her to sit on his lap. Sallie revealed her encounter with the record producer happened after she met him on assignment and had been on a few dates with him before breaking things off. Baker, who was once managed by Simmons, says he raped her after inviting her back to his apartment to discuss her career.
Prior to these accusations, the most recent account of sexual misconduct by Simmons had come from actress and “Rachel Getting Married” screenwriter Jenny Lumet, who penned a guest blog for the Hollywood Reporter. The Phat Farm clothing line creator was also accused of sexually assaulting former model Keri Claussen Khalighi when she was 17.
Though Khalighi said Simmons forced her to perform oral sex on him while filmmaker Brett Ratner — who himself has been accused by numerous women of sexual assault — watched, the music mogul has maintained that their encounter was “completely consensual.” Khalighi said Simmons has since apologized to her privately.