Russell Simmons Sued for Defamation by Former Def Jam Exec Drew Dixon
Just two days after Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons was sued for rape by a former Def Jam executive, he was hit on Thursday with another lawsuit for a former employee, Drew Dixon, who has leveled claims of sexual assault against him in the past. She is suing Simmons for defamation for calling her a “liar” after she made those statements, according to court documents filed Thursday and obtained by Variety; the lawsuit was first reported by Rolling Stone.
Dixon, who worked as a Def Jam A&R executive from 1993 until 1995, filed suit in New York on Thursday and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
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The comment in question came in a December interview with Simmons in which he disputed the definitions of harassment and sexual assault, saying “Yeah, [rape is] a serious word, but I think they’ve changed the meaning.” He further suggested that his accusers could be “thirst[ing] for fame” and said that all of his relationships had been consensual.
Simmons “has gone on a concerted and malicious campaign to discredit Ms. Dixon and to so damage her reputation” to the point her claims would not be credible, the court papers claim, and “this defamation has exacerbated the paralyzation of Ms. Dixon professionally.” A representative for Simmons did not immediately reply to Rolling Stone or Variety’s requests for comment.
Dixon first made public allegations about her experience with Simmons to The New York Times in 2017, claiming that she repeatedly fended off Simmons’ sexual advances, which included exposing himself and attempting to kiss or grope her. She alleges that in 1995 he pinned her to a bed in his apartment and sexually assaulted her. Simmons has denied the claims.
Dixon is one of more than 20 women who have accused Simmons of sexual misconduct. On Tuesday, a former music video producer sued Simmons, alleging that he raped her when she worked for Def Jam Recordings in the late 1990s. The woman, identified in the complaint as Jane Doe, alleges that she went to Simmons’ Manhattan apartment to get his approval for a rough cut of a video. While there, she alleges that he made a “wrestling move,” pinned her down on his bed, and proceeded to rape her.
“Ms. Doe rejected his advance and told him to ‘get off’ and ‘stop’ several times,” the lawsuit states. “She told him she was ‘serious’ and she ‘meant it.’ But Ms. Doe was forcefully pinned, could not move under his weight and Mr. Simmons would not listen to her.”
Jennifer Jarosik filed a rape lawsuit against Simmons in federal court in January 2018. That complaint was dropped a few months later. Another accuser, identified only as Jane Doe, sued Simmons in state court in Los Angeles in March 2018. A judge threw that case out in 2020 because the allegation was barred by the state of limitations.
Simmons has apologized for being “thoughtless and insensitive,” but has said he was never violent. In a podcast interview last year, Simmons acknowledged being in “compromising situations,” but said he had taken and passed nine lie detector tests dealing with the allegations of violent conduct.
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