Russell Simmons is being called out by one of his accusers who thinks he only relocated to Bali, Indonesia, to avoid accountability for his sexual assault lawsuit in the U.S.
A former Def Jam employee who sued the label’s founder on claims that he raped her inside his New York City apartment in the mid-’90s recently filed legal documents obtained by Rolling Stone.
In the Nov. 1 filing, she requests that a judge dismiss Simmons’ claim that he cannot be sued in New York due to his status as a “stateless” U.S. citizen, now “retired” in Indonesia on a retirement visa granted by Indonesian authorities.
“Defendant is running from the court’s jurisdiction to avoid taking accountability for his actions,” the new filing states.
Jane Doe argues that the court should have “serious doubt” about the truthfulness of Simmons’ Oct. 18 declaration, which claims that he sold his last U.S. property in 2021 and now resides permanently in Bali.
She references a deposition Simmons gave in September 2023, where he admitted to actively working and maintaining ties to New York through a Manhattan apartment he leases for his children, as well as office space he keeps for his company, Russell Simmons TV (RSTV, Inc.), in Midtown Manhattan. The plaintiff asserts that an investigation showed that Simmons has an ownership stake in the property.
“He testified that he is building a business empire and needs a partner for his current projects but is thwarted in his active efforts in Dubai and Singapore because of the morality clauses those countries require,” her new filing states.
She also highlights Simmons’ other U.S. business connections, including his ownership of the Gdas Bali Health and Wellness Resort in Indonesia, which he co-owns with American investors, as well as his role as a figurehead for the global media company Gushcloud. Jane Doe points to Simmons’ ongoing business activities as evidence suggesting he may be lying about his retirement claims.
“Actively building an empire means that defendant is ineligible for a retirement visa in Indonesia,” the filing states. “Any purported retirement visa requires recertification every few years that one is, in fact, retired. Building an empire and being retired are mutually exclusive.”
While Simmons claims to have lived solely in Indonesia since 2018, Jane Doe cites an interview he did with AllHipHop earlier this year where he denounced claims of fleeing the country to avoid the multiple women accusing him of sexual assault.
“People saying that I somehow can’t come home when I’m there all the time wears on you,” Simmons said in May. “It wears on me after a while to keep hearing the same narrative, which is false. I’m always in LA, I’m always in New York and Miami.”
The lawsuit names Jane Doe as one of more than 20 women who have accused Simmons of sexual assault or harassment, allegations he continues to deny by citing nine lie detector tests he claims to have passed, though their existence remains unverified outside of the entrepreneur’s own assertion.
