*Russell Simmons refuted a report on Friday that claimed he hit back at the woman who accused him of rape in an attempt to recoup $35,000 in legal fees.
Even the accuser’s attorney agreed that the E News report about the situation was “unsubstantiated.”
Back in March, a Jane Doe filed a $10 million lawsuit against Simmons, alleging that Simmons raped her in a Sacramento, California hotel room in 1988.
That lawsuit stated that the disgraced Def Jam mogul is “a dangerous sex predator,” who threatened the woman prior to the rape: “I am going to f—k you … I’m going to f—k you or I’m going to f—k your son. You decide.”
“[Doe] was shocked that Simmons would threaten her – let alone threaten to rape her young son. Simmons threw her on the bed and raped her,” the lawsuit alleged.
OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: Real Life ‘BlacKkKlansman: David Duke is Concerned About How He Comes off in the Film (WATCH!)
“[Doe] was shocked that Simmons would threaten her – let alone threaten to rape her young son. Simmons threw her on the bed and raped her,” the lawsuit alleged.
As noted by The Blast, the lawsuit was ultimately dismissed because the statute of limitations of when the alleged rape occurred had passed.
More than a dozen women have accused Simmons of sexual misconduct — allegations that he has vehemently denied.
Meanwhile, “The reporting [in the E! News story] is wrong and court records show Mr. Simmons’ attorneys’ motion to dismiss a frivolous and frankly outrageous lawsuit,” a spokeswoman for Simmons told the Los Angeles Times on Friday.
“The plaintiff had 21 days to withdraw the suit after which, by statute, Mr. Simmons’ lawyers filed for dismissal sanctions and appropriate legal fees,” she added.
E! News also reported that Simmons’ attorneys requested that a judge impose sanctions against the accuser’s attorney, A. Douglas Mastroianni, because the plaintiff “falsely suggests in her opposition … that Mr. Simmons is somehow more culpable here because the law firm that represents him in this action also has represented Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein.”
But Mastroianni told The Times that the story and rumors “appear to be completely unsubstantiated.”
“I’m not aware of any such suit nor am I aware of what the basis of such a suit would be,” he said in an e-mail. “It’s not unusual for defendants in these cases to try to intimidate their victims, but [I] have not been served with any suit by Simmons.
“We think it’s a meritless attempt to intimidate a woman our complaint alleges Simmons has already grievously abused,” he added in a follow-up e-mail, according to the report.
A motion for sanctions will be heard on Monday.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
