After a former model accused Russell Simmons of sexual assault, the Def Jam co-founder has penned a statement for The Hollywood Reporter denying the allegations.
Former fashion model Keri Claussen Khalighi told the Los Angeles Timesthat Simmons and friend Brett Ratner invited her back to an apartment to watch a music video, where Simmons began “making aggressive sexual advances” and “yanking off her clothes.
” Khalighi said Ratner, who is facing several other allegations of sexual misconduct, did nothing as Simmons coerced the then-17-year-old into giving him oral sex. In a Wednesday interview on Megyn Kelly Today, Khalighi said Simmons has privately apologized for the encounter, despite denying it publicly.
In his THR statement, Simmons discusses humanity and transition, before saying that he has signed statements from witnesses corroborating that his encounter with Khalighi was consensual. “As a yogi I believe intent is very important. My intent always came from a joyful, playful place. I can sleep at night because I know who I am. And I know who I was. I never committed any acts of aggression or violence in my life,” he writes. See his full statement below:
Humanity is going through a powerful and wrenching shift of consciousness that I believe will ultimately lead to a mass awakening in all humankind.