Russell Simmons insists he’s free to roam the United States without concern. The Hip-Hop mogul said he didn’t leave America to avoid legal trouble in response to AllHipHop’s reporting on a court filing regarding his decision to live in Bali.
“People saying that I somehow can’t come home when I’m there all the time wears on you,” Simmons told AllHipHop’s Chuck Creekmur. “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.”
Simmons often faced rumors of fleeing the country due to multiple women accusing him of rape and sexual misconduct. The Def Jam co-founder denied the allegations. He explained his living situation to a New York court amid his legal battle against a woman accusing him of sexual assault.
“I am not physically present in New York and I do not have an intention to live in New York in the future,” Simmons said in a declaration filed on Wednesday (May 22). “I own no property in the United States. I have been living in Bali since 2018, which is where I intend to remain. For at least nine years before I moved to Bali, I lived in California. As a California resident, I paid California resident taxes in the years immediately prior to moving to Bali. Currently, I pay California non-resident state taxes.”
Simmons’ accuser sued him for sexual battery/assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and gender-motivated violence in February. The alleged victim, a former Def Jam employee identified as Jane Doe, claimed Simmons raped her in the ‘90s.
Jane Doe also accused Simmons of forging her signature on a document in an amended complaint. According to Simmons’ lawyer, former Def Jam executive Lyor Cohen verified the signature’s legitimacy.
Another ex-Def Jam executive, Drew Dixon, sued Simmons for defamation in February. She accused Simmons of engaging in a “malicious campaign to discredit” her sexual assault allegations.
