Russell Simmons is back in the news this week. The Hip-Hop mogul is at odds with his ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons and their daughters. The women allege that Russell has been verbally abusing and threatening them for the last few years. Not a shock to many, as Russell has a documented history of being abusive towards women. Amanda Seales spoke out about an uncomfortable interaction with him several years ago.
Seales spoke out in 2017, around the time Russell Simmons stepped down from his businesses following sexual harassment claims from writer Jenny Lumet. Seales recalled a time she took a meeting with Russell Simmons to discuss business. Initially, Seales withheld his name but told the story about how a “very important man” asked her casually if they had sex before.
When she replied, “no,” Simmons laughed it off, saying, “Oh, right. Cause I would’ve remembered that, right?” Seales updated the clip after more stories about Simmons broke. Amanda explained that “power dynamics” keep a lot of people from speaking out. Seales says she was not even assaulted but was scared to say Russell’s name out of fear that she would be blackballed or blocked from an opportunity.
“You know how hard it was for me to say that,” she continued. “And he didn’t even assault me, and I didn’t wanna say that. That’s how the game is f**ked up.”
Seales went on to say that most women wait to speak out or never say anything at all because “you know your vision is bigger than their indiscretion and refuse to let it derail you from your goals.” Seales said that its particularly harder speaking out against “black men of prestige” because many women of color are “conditioned to not speak defamatory truths for fear it will undermine their contributions to the community.”
