Russell Simmons Accused Of Rape By Another Woman

In November 1990, Alexia Norton Jones went on a date with Russell Simmons. She recalls that they had a pleasant night out, which ended with the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings inviting her to see his new apartment in downtown Manhattan. There, Jones says, Simmons pinned her against a wall and raped her. “It was such a fast attack,” she told Variety. “He pulled my dress up. I must have said no seven to 10 times.”

After she left, distraught and in shock, Jones claims that Simmons continued to pursue her, calling her at home and approaching her at social events. Jones, a 31-year-old aspiring model and actress at the time (she is the granddaughter of late book publisher W.W. Norton), was in the same social circle as Simmons. And Simmons was a friend of Jones’ father, Clarence Jones, who had served as an attorney and speechwriter for Martin Luther King Jr. After some years had passed, Jones forgave Simmons.