Russell Simmons Continues to Dodge Settlement

Last year Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons of failing to pay a $3 million settlement to two women who accused him of sexual assault [click here if you missed that[. 

Russell still hasn't paid up...

From Court House News

Russell Simmons owes more than $3 million to a pair of women who have accused the music mogul of sixual assault, according to new court records.

The two women, Toni Sallie and Alexia Norton Jones, filed confessions of judgment on Friday in New York County Supreme Court, part of confidential settlement agreements that they entered into with Simmons in 2023. According to the filings, Simmons owes Sallie roughly $3 million and Jones $200,000.

While the settlements — now public on the county docket — don’t explicitly state what the agreements are for, each woman has publicly accused Simmons of sixual assault in the past several years.

According to the court filings made public Friday, Sallie entered into a $3 million confidential settlement agreement with Simmons on Nov. 23, 2023.

“The parties and their counsel agree to keep strictly confidential and not to disclose to anyone … any information concerning or in any way relating to the claims which Sallie has alleged caused her injuries or damages,” the agreement read.

But Sallie claims in the newly released documents that Simmons is behind on his payments, only shelling out about $60,000 so far. She’s looking to reclaim the outstanding $2.94 million, plus 20% annualized interest that started accruing in February 2024.

In one document filed Friday, Sallie reminded Simmons and his counsel that, due to the possibility of litigation, they are “obligated to maintain, preserve, retain, protect, and not destroy any and all documents and data … that may be relevant to any claims asserted by Ms. Sallie concerning Simmons’s sixual assaults of her and/or anyone else.”

 

The new court records show that Jones entered into a confidential settlement agreement with Simmons on April 12, 2023, worth $300,000. She did so anonymously, being referred to throughout the settlement as Jane Doe. Simmons is referred to as John Roe.

Like Sallie’s, Jones’ agreement with Simmons doesn’t mention sixual assault specifically. It instead refers to the “alleged personal physical injuries and/or physical sickness, as well as … attendant emotional distress that Doe claims she has suffered.”

Simmons didn’t admit to wrongdoing in either settlement agreement. His legal representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.