Russell Simmons accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old in 1991
In 1991, Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons reportedly forced a young model to perform oral sex while filmmaker Brett Ratner watched it all happen. Simmons and Ratner both dispute that telling of what occurred.
The story comes from Keri Claussen Khalighi, who was 17 at the time, in an interview with The Los Angeles Times. Ratner didn't participate, but Kalighi said he also didn't respond when she asked him to intervene.
"I looked over at Brett and said 'help me' and I'll never forget the look on his face," she said. "In that moment, the realization fell on me that they were in it together."
Kalighi met with the two men at a casting call in 1991. After having dinner at a fancy New York City restaurant, they headed to Simmons apartment, ostensibly to take a look at a music video the two men had been working on.
That's not what happened, however. As Kalighi revealed, Simmons became aggressive, tearing her clothes off and -- despite her protestations -- forcing her to perform oral sex. All the while, Ratner "just sat there and watched."
The LA Times account continues:
Feeling “disgusting,” Khalighi said she went to take a shower. Minutes later, she alleged, Simmons walked up behind her in the shower and briefly penetrated her without her consent. She said she jerked away, then he left. “It hurt so much.”
Speaking to the paper himself, Simmons disputed the account, stating anything that occurred between Kalighi and himself came with her "full consent and participation."
Ratner, through his attorney, also noted that he had "no recollection" of Kalighi's plea for help and never saw her "protest." Ratner is currently facing issues of his own as multiple women have come forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct.
Shortly after the Simmons report surfaced, actor Terry Crews -- who has himself been the victim of sexual assault -- weighed in on Twitter. Rather than commenting on Kalighi's story, Crews shared an email he received from Simmons shortly after his own story of being assaulted led to the suspension of WME agent Adam Venit.
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As is the case with so many of these stories, this one is only just making the rounds. Whether or not Kalighi's account encourages more women to come forward remains to be seen.
Definitely give that LA Times report a read, as it goes into far greater detail on what happened and the longtime relationship between Ratner and Simmons.
Topics Celebrities
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
