June 5, 2025
Russell Simmons claims the HBO documentary “On the Report” suppressed info that supported his innocence.
Russell Simmons is suing the creators of the On the Report documentary for $20 million, alleging defamation towards HBO and the documentary’s administrators, Amy Ziering, and Kirby Dick, as a consequence of his portrayal within the movie, which delves into the previous Def Jam CEO’s a number of sexual assault allegations.
“Regardless of voluminous help for Mr. Simmons within the type of credible info, persuasive proof, witness statements, and requires additional investigation by notable members of the media, politics, and the civil rights motion, the defendants merely disregarded and launched and proceed to re-release globally, a movie that tremendously disparaged and broken Mr. Simmons with salacious and defamatory accusations that he vehemently denies,” attorneys Imran Ansari and co-counsel Carla DiMare mentioned in a written assertion, in line with Selection.
Launched in 2020, On the Report options a number of ladies who’ve accused the mogul of sexual harassment, rape and sexual misconduct. Dick, Ziering, and HBO refute claims that Simmons was ignored within the creation course of.
Representatives for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the mum or dad firm of HBO, acknowledged, “We dispute Mr. Simmons’ allegations, stand by the filmmakers and their course of, and can vigorously defend ourselves towards these unfounded allegations.”
Ziering additionally defended the mission’s credibility. “We at all times do a really rigorous means of vetting.”
There’s a one-year statute of limitations on Simmons’s lawsuit, which has handed. Nevertheless, within the submitting, Simmons claims the rereleases of the documentary have continued to smear his popularity and thus falls inside the one-year window.
He needs $20 million in compensation. A jury has but to resolve if that includes the claims of Simmons’ victims was dangerous. But, Simmons has saved himself and these claims within the headlines lately.
In October 2024, Sil Lai Abrams, Sherri Abernathy, and Wendy Carolina Franco filed for “confessions of judgment” within the New York County Supreme Court docket. The request was filed after Simmons agreed to a monetary settlement for every lady and didn’t render fee. Within the preliminary settlement, Simmons pledged to pay $1,265,000 every to Abrams and Abernathy, and $515,000 to Franco.
The explanation for every lady’s settlement has not been made public. Nevertheless, Simmons’ failure to pay fueled hypothesis. Moreover, the re-emergence of the settlement introduced consideration to the claims beforehand made by Abrams, Abernathy, and Franco.
As HBO has no intention of settling with Simmons, the case will transfer ahead in federal court docket.
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