To keep it 1,000 percent, Black moguls are having the worst October ever—and it probably won’t get any better. On Tuesday, attorney Tony Buzbee (Buzbee Law Firm) joined AVA Law Group in a press conference to share that 120 people came forward with claims of rape, sexual exploitation and sexual assault against Sean “Diddy” Combs in a new lawsuit.
Now, court records reveal that Russell Simmons has failed to pay previously agreed-upon settlements to three different women. Variety has reported that Simmons owes a total of $3 million to: journalist Sil Lai Abrams, Wendy Carolina Franco and Sherri Abernathy.
The confessions of judgment were filed Wednesday (Oct. 2) in New York County Supreme Court. The documents were part of undisclosed settlement agreements that the women entered into with Simmons last year.
Part of the settlement includes Simmons paying “for claimant’s alleged personal, physical injuries and sickness,” by Oct. 1. If the mogul defaults in any of the payments, the plaintiffs are entitled to an expedited means to obtain judgments in New York state court to collect their money.
Simmons agreed to pay $1,265,000 to both Abrams and Abernathy, respectively. Franco also supposed to receive $515,000 according to the terms of the settlement. The documents do not distinctly explain why the settlements were initially made—as Simmons didn’t confess to any wrongdoing—though Abrams has said Simmons raped her in 1994.
Over the last ten years, nearly two dozen women have accused Simmons of sexual assault. The most recent accusation came this past February from a Jane Doe who said that Simmons raped her in the late 1990s. He now resides in Bali.
Simmons rose to fame and fortune he co-founded the label Def Jam alongside producer Rick Rubin in 1984. His empire would eventually expand into fashion, financial services, reality television, and film. In 1992, Simmons launched his clothing line Phat Farm.
His now ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons expanded on the line with Baby Phat. Russell also launched a financial enterprise with the RushCard as well as the Baby Phat RushCard. Other endeavors include Def Poetry Jam (HBO poetry slam series) and appearing on the MTV reality television series “Run’s House.”
In 2020, Abrams appeared in the documentary “On the Record” in which prominent Black women—like former Def Jam executive Drew Dixon—shared their harrowing experiences in the music industry and accused Simmons of sexual misconduct.
In an interview last year, the star stated that even though he was placed in “compromising situations,” he had never done anything wrong. “I took nine lie detector tests, people don’t know that,” Simmons stated on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger.”
“Nine separate — seven from the Chairman of the Polygraph Association. One for each and serious accusation…some people say that they’re not accurate, but it’s 94% accurate.”
Simmons has recently gotten backlash after receiving a visit in Bali from longtime friend Taraji P. Henson.