Russell Simmons Insists He's Not Hiding In Bali Amid Rape And Sexual Assault Allegations
Russell Simmons has claimed that his decision to reside in Bali, Indonesia, has nothing to do with the rape and sexual assault allegations against him.
Earlier this week, the Def Jam Recordings co-founder sparked speculation that he was afraid of returning to the U.S. and was hiding out in Bali after multiple women accused him of raping or sexually assaulting them.
But Simmons -- who has denied these allegations -- shut this rumor down Friday, telling AllHipHop that this was a "false" narrative.
"People saying that I somehow can't come home when I'm there all the time wears on you," Simmons said. "It wears on me after a while to keep hearing the same narrative, which is false."
"I'm always in L.A., I'm always in New York and Miami. And I've never had any reason to feel unsafe in America," the 66-year-old added.
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Simmons has indeed been spotted in the U.S. since his 2018 move to Bali.
Last year, he made an appearance at City of Hope's 2023 Spirit of Life Gala as well as MusiCares' 2024 Person of the Year gala in Los Angeles.
Simmons also addressed the speculation surrounding his decision to live in Indonesia during a 2023 interview on "In Depth with Graham Bensinger."
At the time, he insisted that he often returns to the U.S.
"Because I left and I spend so much time here, people assumed that I really left and ran even though I'm back in America all the time," he said.
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Earlier this week, AllHipHop published a report in which Simmons was quoted as saying that he has no intention of moving back to the U.S. despite being slapped with a new lawsuit.
"I am not physically present in New York and I do not have an intention to live in New York in the future," the former record executive told the outlet in a statement. "I own no property in the United States. I have been living in Bali since 2018, which is where I intend to remain."
In February, a former senior executive at Def Jam Recordings filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against Simmons, accusing him of raping her at his apartment in Manhattan in the '90s.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Simmons' attorney denied the allegations.
"Mr. Simmons has always maintained that he has never engaged in non-consensual sexual relationships with anyone," the attorney said. "And he has voluntarily taken a number of lie detector tests that support that."
The ex-Def Jam executive joined the over a dozen other women who have accused Simmons of rape, sexual assault, or harassment since 2017.
Simmons claimed during his interview with Bensinger that he has "never been violent to anybody" and that all of his sexual encounters have been "consensual."
