Russell Simmons files $20 million lawsuit against HBO
Russell Simmons, the record executive who founded Def Jam with Rick Rubin, has filed a lawsuit against HBO over the On the Record documentary. He claims the television service and the doc’s filmmakers defamed him and ignored evidence supporting his version of events.
On the Record was released on HBO Max in 2020 and focused on sexual assault and misconduct allegations against Simmons. The suit claims the filmmakers “disregarded and/or suppressed” information provided by Simmons’ team.
A statement from his lawyers read, “Despite voluminous support for Mr Simmons in the form of credible information, persuasive evidence, witness statements, and calls for further investigation by notable members of the media, politics, and the civil rights movement, the defendants simply disregarded it, and released, and continue to re-release globally, a film that tremendously disparaged and damaged Mr Simmons with salacious and defamatory accusations that he vehemently denies.”
HBO’s parent company, Warner Bros Discovery, denied the allegations. A spokesperson said, “We dispute Mr Simmons’ allegations, stand by the filmmakers and their process, and will vigorously defend ourselves against these unfounded allegations.”
In addition to $20 million in damages, Simmons requests “immediate removal” of the documentary from HBO’s platforms.
Over 20 women have accused Simmons of sexual assault. He’s faced several sexual misconduct lawsuits, with some of those alleged victims appearing in the On the Record documentary.
In March, Simmons was accused of causing “pain” in a refiled lawsuit, allegedly pinning down a woman and raping her in his Manhattan apartment in the mid-1990s. Determined to bring justice, she said, “For me, his accountability is the paramount reason I filed the case, for Russell to accept he was wrong, that he caused pain. Forced sex is against the law.”