After failing to pay previously agreed upon settlements, according to court records, Russell Simmons still owes three women $3,000,000.00
Part of prior confidential settlement agreements that the women entered into with the music mogul in November 2023, the three written agreements were filed this week in New York County Supreme Court on behalf of Sil Lai Abrams, Sherri Abernathy and Wendy Carolina Franco.
Despite the co-founder of the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings agreeing to pay each female plaintiff substantial sums “for claimant’s alleged personal, physical injuries and sickness” by 1 October of this year, Simmons has failed to honor his financial commitment.
According to the agreements Russell pledged to pay $1,265,000 each to Abrams and Abernathy, and $515,000 to Franco, and under the settlements, he did not admit any wrongdoing.
Although the filed documents do not explicitly outline why the original settlements were made, Abrams, an author and domestic violence activist, had previously alleged that Simmons raped her in 1994.
Over nearly ten years, more than twenty women have come forward accusing Simmons of sexual assault including a former Def Jam executive who sued him for defamation in February after she claimed he sexually assaulted her and he called her a “liar.”
In a 2023 podcast interview, the music mogul admitted that he had been in “compromising situations”, but said he had taken and passed nine lie detector tests dealing with the allegations of violent conduct.
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: Brett Weinstein