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Russell Simmons has spoken out about the recent allegations of sexual assault against him.
The music mogul took to Instagram to discuss the allegations against him starting with, “Shoutout to black women just because.”
“The reason I haven’t been too angry about my personal situation is because listening intently to the dialogue around the #metoo movement has inspired me to look beyond my personal scenario. In the end I’ll be fine,” he wrote.
At the end of April, the woman who accused the music mogul of rape agreed to dismiss the $5 million lawsuit she filed against him. And though the singer still faces another $10 million lawsuit, filed by another woman who claims Simmons raped her, Simmons continues to remain confident in his innocence.
“I’ve accepted responsibility for the life that I have lived and been very forcefully and vehemently denying accusations for things that I have not done,” the music producer wrote going on to praise the #MeToo movement as a “revolution” and highlighted the struggle for black women.
“A little blood on my shoulders so that my daughters see a better world is worth it. This revolution is bloody, true. There is collateral damage, also true. But today my meditation reminded me yet again that black women have bared the biggest burden for sure. And for sure ALL women of ALL RACES and RELIGONS (in part because of and supported by all great religions and institutions) have lived unequal throughout the ages, in unjust and Incredibly unfair circumstances,” Simmons wrote.
The 60-year-old Def Jam co-founder was one of the first figures in music to be called out in the cascade of sexual misconduct allegations that began with Harvey Weinstein in October.
According to E! News, as many as 14 women have come forward publicly and said Simmons raped them in the 1980s or 1990s, including three who made the allegations in a New York Times story in December.
Simmons has denied all the allegations, saying in January that they range “from the patently untrue to the frivolous and hurtful.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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