Claiming that Russell 'has been nothing but kind, gentle, sweet, generous and amazing if you don't have that horror story,' the podcaster blames women accusing men of sexual assault.
- Mar 8, 2024
AceShowbiz - Joe Budden has come to Russell Simmons defense amid his legal battle. When weighing in on the sexual assault leveled at the latter, the podcaster praised the music mogul for being "kind" and "gentle."
In the latest episode of his eponymous podcast, the 43-year-old stated, "They love Russell Simmons... I know y'all don't want to say it, y'all don't want to admit to it." He added, "I know people seen whatever doc they seen, people believe what they believe."
"There's nothing y'all can do to make people stop loving Russell Simmons. Not a thing in the world," the media personality continued. "Not a thing in the universe is going to make people stop loving Russell Simmons for as many lives as he impacted."
Claiming that Russell "has been nothing but kind, gentle, sweet, generous and amazing if you don't have that horror story," Joe blamed women accusing men of sexual assault. He argued, "As somebody that has spent a lot of time in the music business, nobody speaks to the side where the women were auctioning their pussy to move up in the ranks of the system."
"This existed way before I got to town. But that was happening too," he further noted. "But nobody says that part. Again, I'm not speaking about Russell Simmons, I'm just talking blanket, broad."
In February, a former music video producer filed a lawsuit against Russell. The plaintiff accused the Def Jam Recordings co-founder of raping her in the 1990s.
The woman said Russell pinned her down on his bed and raped her when she visited his Manhattan apartment to get his approval for a rough cut of a video. According to Variety, her suit stated, "Ms. Doe rejected his advance and told him to 'get off' and 'stop' several times. 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."
