At least three women say that they were raped by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, who recently left his business empire following abuse allegations, The New York Times has reported.
The 60-year-old hip-hop legend denied the rape accusations — which date back to 1988 — and voiced support for the growing movement of women speaking out against abusive men.
Simmons announced on November 30 that he was stepping down from his business roles after two women accused him of assault, which he also denied.
But The New York Times article described an alleged pattern of behaviour by the enormously influential Def Jam Recordings co-founder, who was accused of preying on women entering the industry.
Tina Baker, a singer who has performed back-up for Madonna and Bruce Springsteen, said Simmons was her manager when he invited her to his apartment in 1990 or 1991.
She told the newspaper that he pinned her down and raped her. Simmons said he never had sex with Baker. He said in a statement: “I vehemently deny all these allegations.”
Weinstein denies claims
Meanwhile, movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has also denied sexual harassment accusations made against him by actor Salma Hayek.
Hayek has joined the scores of actors to accuse Harvey Weinstein, alleging that the fallen Hollywood producer sexually harassed her, and put her under pressure to do an unnecessary sex scene with a co-actor.
“For years, he was my monster,” the Mexican-born star wrote in an essay published in The New York Times , detailing the torturous production of the 2002 movie Frida that eventually earned Hayek an Oscar nomination for best actress.
Weinstein, via his representative, has admitted that there was “creative friction” during the making of the film but denied asking for sexual favours.
Calling Hayek “a first-class actress”, Weinstein said he chose the actor over Jennifer Lopez, who was interested in playing Frida Kahlo and was a bigger star at that time. “Mr Weinstein does not recall pressuring Salma to do a gratuitous sex scene with a female co-star,” the statement said.
