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has been
accused of sexual assault by multiple women (reportedly,
TWENTY), and has pretty much exiled himself to Bali. Nevertheless, he’s been getting interviewed on various platforms, and it’s not sitting well with many.
Right now, there is an entire documentary on HBO Max called
On The Record that details multiple rape allegations against the Def Jam Records founder, with former A&R exec Drew Dixon as its primary focus. While Simmons still maintains his innocence, over a dozen women have come forward to say Simmons has sexually assaulted them.
But most recently, Simmons appeared on Noreaga’s podcast
Drink Champs. The problematic minefield this presented was not lost on Marc Lamont Hill, who issued a “my bad” for participating (Talib Kweli, Mysonne and Bun B were also on the bill), when news of the virtual sit down was announced—noting that he was unaware Simmons would be a guest.
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“I stand with, and fully believe, the women who have come forward about Russell’s sexual violence,” read part of Hill’s thread. “I am sorry that I shared space with someone who has caused such harm without accountability. Although I had NO IDEA he’d be on, I am nonetheless deeply sorry that I was a part of it.”
The sad part is the convo before Simmons was tapped on as a “Part 2” to join the fold was great. However, it must be noted that no women participated.
Tidal took down the promo tweet, but this is the Internet.
Simmons had also recently appeared on
The Breakfast Club. While Angela Yee did ask directly about the accusations, to say that Simmons was challenged would be a reach.
In both cases,
Twitter was not here for Uncle Rush seemingly getting a pass. The fact that
Drink Champs is hosted on TIDAL, and thus Jay-Z, also did not go over well. Revolt TV where it also airs (and this Diddy)
also caught the smoke. Add to that mix the topic of conversation was the Black Lives Matter movement, and it was a collective, “Nah.”
TIDAL and Revolt TV clearly were paying attention, because they have
reportedly pulled the episode per The Wrap.
See more of the backlash below. Tell us where you stand in the comments.
https://twitter.com/divanificent/status/1275527386558316545
