Def Jam mogul Russell Simmons seems to be the only figure in hip-hop who is currently defending Bad Boy founder Diddy as he faces a slew of sexual assault allegations. The now disgraced producer and entrepreneur has been dropped by all of his former associates and has been ostracised since the initial lawsuits were filed against him.
Unsurprisingly, Simmons is defending Diddy as he is facing similar allegations of sexual assault. On May 6th, the Def Jam co-founder took to Instagram to share his thoughts on Diddy’s case and warned people about why they should be so quick to pass judgement.
Speaking to his followers, Simmons expressed, “When you tear someone down, or you watch someone tear someone down, try not to get so excited. I know it’s fun to watch for some people.”
He continued, “If I had a nickel for every nasty meme sent to me by people whose lives were enhanced and built by Sean Combs, it’s like, it seems a bit hypocritical since the only reason you have a life is ’cause you worked for him, or he gave you a job or lifted you up somehow.”
Simmons even went as far as to encourage his followers to uplift Diddy as he faces this period of hardship in his life and revealed he thinks it is cruel for people to rejoice in his downfall, stating, “Watching our brothers fall is hurtful. Having everybody get together and laugh at our brother’s fall or supporting the tearing down of our brothers is tough. You may think it’s, you know, entertaining. Some of the memes are funny, right? But, we gotta look up, train our minds to see the good in things and not the negative.”
By doing the above, Simmons also asked fans to have some grace regarding him and his lawsuit. The mogul has been accused of falsifying a settlement document for a sexual assault case that was formally filed against him earlier in the year.
Simmons allegedly admitted to Ms Doe that he was “Sorry for what he’d done” in an amended report filed on April 30th. He also said that he wanted to settle the case without involving attorneys. However, Jane Doe has accused Simmons of falsifying a settlement document and then submitting that falsified document to court.
The original complaint filed by the plaintiff, in this case, was done so in New York federal court and accused Simmons of false imprisonment, battery, emotional distress and a violation of the state’s gender-motivated violence law. The plaintiff alleges that Simmons invited her to his apartment for work and began wrestling with her “in an attempt to appear playful,” but this escalated, and he pinned her down on the bed aggressively.
Court documents state that “Ms Doe repeatedly told Mr Simmons to get off her, but he refused… Mr Simmons proceeded to rape her.” Simmons then allegedly continued to harass the plaintiff at work, eventually forcing her to resign in 1997.