The controversial On the Record documentary has aired on HBO Max, and Russell Simmons is ready to speak his truth. For years, the Def Jam icon has been a leading voice in the music industry, but recently, his name has been entangled in controversy. For some time, Russell Simmons has stood accused of rape and sexual misconduct, and while many of the stories are from decades ago, his alleged victims have joined forces and come forward to share their stories.

Dozens of women have accused Simmons of sexual assault, and after it was shared that One the Record, a doc that highlights the story of former music executive Drew Dixon and others, would be seen by the masses, Simmons vehemently denied the allegations against him. He even went toe-to-toe with Oprah Winfrey who was an executive producer of the documentary before bowing out over what she said were creative differences.

On Tuesday (June 9), DJ Envy shared that Russell Simmons would be joining The Breakfast Club for a chat on Wednesday (June 10) morning. This was something that didn't sit well with accuser Sil Lai Abrams who has repeatedly shared her story that Simmons raped her in 1994. Simmons denied the allegations.

"Please explain this @breakfastclubam @cthagod @angelayee @djenvy Why? Why do you carry water for this man? Why now? Why are you so tone deaf? You're all complicit in ensuring that Black women's right to bodily autonomy continues to be denied. You're also rape apologists," she penned on Twitter. She wasn't the only one to call out the radio show. Check out a few harsh reactions below.

By now, you’ve heard of On The Record, the earthshattering documentary detailing allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct against Russell Simmons. As the months have progressed and more information about the controversial film has been revealed, Simmons has continued to categorically deny the allegations before him. While his name has been paraded in headlines in his attachment to One The Record, there hasn’t been as much recognition placed on another music industry great who stands accused of sexual misconduct as well: L.A. Reid.

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On The Record‘s main person of interest is Drew Dixon, a former music industry executive who worked with hip hop legends in her heyday. The film follows her career as she worked from the bottom to becoming the Director of A&R at Def Jam, but after she alleged Russell Simmons raped her, she soon left the label. In the film, Dixon says she took some time to find herself after feeling destroyed from the alleged attack, then she met Clive Davis and got a job over at Arista Records as the Senior Director of A&R.

She thrived there, even helping to build hits with Lauryn Hill and Whitney Houston, but during her tenure, Clive stepped down and L.A. Reid took his place. What followed, according to Dixon, were behaviors that she says mirrored much of the sexual harassment she endured at Def Jam. She claims that after she rejected Reid’s advances, notably refusing to meet up with him at the swanky Four Seasons hotel, he became cruel and unwilling to even consider artists that she knew were hitmakers. Two of those talents were allegedly Kanye West and John Legend.

“I auditioned Kanye West, and not only did he pass on Kanye, L.A. Reid dressed me down in front of the entire A&R department,” Drew Dixon recalled in the film. She went on to say that for 45 minutes Reid embarrassed her in front of her colleagues and called her Kanye pitch a “waste of [his] time.” In the end, Dixon asked Reid if she could go out into the hallway and give Ye the bad news.

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“I remember, I brought Kanye into my office, he had tears in his eyes,” she said. “I said, let me tell you something. You’re gonna get a deal. You’re gonna win Grammys. You’re gonna look back on this. You’re gonna laugh. Promise you.” The last artist she attempted to get Reid to sign before ultimately quitting the industry altogether was John Legend. Like Kanye, Reid allegedly passed on the EGOT crooner because of what Dixon describes as his spite for her. They reportedly rented a private concert space for Legend to practice in hopes of delivering his best performance pitch to the high-powered music executive, but at the last minute, Dixon says Reid told her he “didn’t want to go, and he told the senior staff not to go. He passed on him.”

Both Simmons and Reid have denied any accusations of sexual misconduct. On The Record debuts on HBO Max on May 27.

After months of scandal, back and forth statements, and controversial interviews, the trailer for the documentary about Russell Simmons’ sexual assault accusations has arrived. The film recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival months ago and was well-received, but the world can now get a glimpse into what to expect from the explosive HBO Max exposé.

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Oprah Winfrey, who boasted a decadeslong friendship with Russell Simmons, was once an executive producer of the film before announcing that she was removing herself from the project. “In my opinion, there is more work to be done on the film to illuminate the full scope of what the victims endured and it has become clear that the filmmakers and I are not aligned in that creative vision,” Oprah said back in January.

Russell Simmons has continuously denied the allegations before him. He unequivocally claims that he’s never assaulted or forced himself on anyone sexually, but his accusers are unwavering. “Maybe you should name your documentary ‘FLAVOR OF LOVE’!?” the music icon wrote on Instagram. “In closing, I am guilty of exploiting, supporting, and making the soundtrack for a grossly unequal society, but i have never been violent or forced myself on anyone.” On the Record will premiere on HBO Max on May 27 but until then, watch the trailer below.

One of the pioneers of hip-hop, the co-founder of Def Jam Records has had allegations of sexual assault from multiple women looming over him for the past three years. It was reported that Simmons stepped down from his positions at all of his businesses and relocated to Indonesia to take refuge from the scrutiny he was facing. Since then, an entire documentary detailing Simmons’ alleged sexual advances, actions, and misconduct has been produced and premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival this past weekend. 

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The documentary entitled, On The Record, features in-depth interviews from multiple accusers revealing their troubling experiences with the hip-hop mogul. The doc focuses on one of Russell Simmons’ accusers in Drew Dixon who claims that he had forcibly assaulted her while working for him as an A&R during the ’90s. Dixon also discussed her disappointment with Oprah after she withdrew from participating in the documentary. In an exclusive interview with USA Today, Dix revealed:

“The past 15 days have been traumatic. Definitely lots of extra therapy sessions. Lots of anxiety.”

Despite Oprah and AppleTV+’s withdrawal from participating in the production of the documentary, the film received not one but two standing ovations from people in attendance at the Sundance Festival screening of the movie. While reviews of On The Record, have been described as compellingly uncomfortable and infuriating, the film was well-received during all of its showings. 

Last year, the Oprah-produced Leaving Neverland, premiered at the festival and received high praise from critics until the doc was debunked as fictitious following some basic research.  

As of right now, there isn’t a network providing the documentary with a platform for those wishing to watch On The Record. But if it continues to receive positive reviews during its private showings, eventually the doc will make its way to a ble network. 

Russell Simmons has denied all allegations made against him in regards to the documentary and those accusing him of sexual assault.

The hype around On The Record, the documentary highlighting numerous women who have accused Russell Simmons of sexual assault, made its premiere at The Sundance Film Festival. It’s reported that at the conclusion of the film, the audience gave it a standing ovation, but while it was a hit at the festival, one of the women featured in the documentary has come forward to speak out about why Oprah Winfrey was absent.

We’ve previously reported that Oprah was once an executive producer for the documentary, but shortly after that announcement was made, the OWN network mogul shared that she would no longer be working with On The Record‘s filmmakers. There was a movement against Oprah, urging her to remove herself from the project, and she even admitted in an interview that she felt pressured by Russell Simmons who she spoke with directly. However, Oprah insisted that it wasn’t Simmons or social media criticism that caused her to back away. Instead, she said, the filmmakers were moving in a creative direction that she didn’t agree with and she couldn’t have her name on a project that she didn’t believe in.

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Sil Lai Abrams, author and activist, alleges that back in 1994, Simmons raped her. She’s shared her story multiple times, including in a The Hollywood Reporter exposé, and now she’s stepping forward once again for On The Record. “I was not surprised that Oprah pulled out,” Abrams told Deadline. “When I learned that and the news broke accidentally…people put the pieces together and realized that the film was about Russell and Drew and other survivors. I knew there was an army that existed of Michael Jackson fans who were still very angry at her (Oprah) for hosting the Leaving Neverland screening. And so when Russell and 50 Cent did their social media thing, there was a population already existing that was ready to jump on the train and use this film as a way into Ms. Winfrey’s involvement as a way to tear her down.”

Abrams continued, “She was hammered (online): ‘Oprah has a vendetta against black men.’ Here she participated in the Leaving Neverland documentary and a year later she was doing this film. Nobody said that Russell was innocent. Everybody said Michael (Jackson) was innocent and Oprah has a vendetta against black men. That’s quite telling about what transpired and the potential motivations here as to why we’re in the situation that we are in now, which is one of those things is kind of a blessing. Because if you want to have an ally, if you want someone in the trenches, you want someone that’s going to stand up when things get hot and to their credit, [filmmakers] Amy (Ziering) and Kirby (Dick) stood.”

Check out Oprah’s previous explanations with CBS This Morning below.

Ever since she announced that she’s backed away from the #MeToo documentary On The Record that profiles multiple women who have accused Russell Simmons of sexual assault. Since that time, Oprah has stated that Simmons attempted to pressure her into distancing herself from the film, but he wasn’t the reason why she decided to exit. 

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She took a break from her 2020 Vision Tour where she’s been making her way around America while speaking to a few celebrities guests like Lady Gaga, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Amy Schumer, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Michelle Obama to sold-out audiences in the thousands. Stopping by CBS This Morning, Oprah chatted with host and best friend Gayle King about her book club and tour, but right off the bat, Gayle wanted to address the elephant in the room.

“First of all, I just want to say that I have lived #MeToo since I was nine-years-old and was raped at nine. Sexually assaulted from nine to 14 and then raped again at 14,” Oprah said. “And nothing is harder than standing up for yourself when you’re 14 and not being believed. And I was not believed by my own family. So, I stand in support of these women, I believe them It was a hard decision because I knew that Russell Simmons had started publicly pressuring me and that me pulling out of the documentary was going to look like I was being pressured.”

Oprah wasn’t sure how to respond, but she continued, “For me, Gayle knows this, in all experiences in my life, in particular when I’m in a crisis, the only question for me is: What is the right thing to do?” The OWN mogul stated that she had already set the wheels in motion to remove herself from the documentary before Simmons shared his Instagram post bashing the documentary.

“New information had come forward the very first time this was announced and [I said], ‘I think we need to pull out of Sundance and if we can’t pull out of Sundance, I’m gonna have to take my name off,” Oprah added. “I don’t wanna have to take my name off ’cause it’s gonna a big [deal].'” She said she doesn’t care about awards but just wanted to get it right. “I think there’s some inconsistencies in the stories that we need to look at.”

While she wholeheartedly believes the “women deserve to be heard,” as an executive producer Oprah said she “thought some things were not right. I wanted the context of the story to be broadened. I wanted more women brought into the story.” She made sure to note: “This is not a victory for Russell and I unequivocally say that I did not because of Russell. This is not a victory lap for him. I cannot be silenced by a Russell Simmons after all I’ve been through.”

She also called it “ridiculous” that anyone would suggest that she wasn’t standing up for black people. Watch her clip in full below.

After distancing herself from the forthcoming #MeToo documentary now titled On The Record, Oprah Winfrey is speaking freely about her association with the project. When it was announced that the media mogul would act as executive producer of a film that highlighted women who have accused Russell Simmons of vicious sexual assaults, Oprah received backlash. She was accused of taking aim at famous black men in the industry who have faced similar accusations while ignoring others including Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.

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Oprah shared that she and the On The Record filmmakers weren’t seeing eye-to-eye on the creative vision for the project. Later, Oprah’s best friend Gayle King would come forward to assert that Oprah wasn’t “muzzled” into backing away from the documentary. However, in an interview with The New York Times, Oprah revealed that Simmons did “reach out multiple times and attempted to pressure me.”

“I told him directly in a phone call that I will not be pressured either into, or out of, backing this film,” she said. “I am only going to do what I believe to be the right thing.” Award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay added,  “She’s got Simmons on one side pressuring her, and then she’s got a film on the other side that she doesn’t agree with. So if she walks away from the film, she seems like she’s caving to Simmons, and if she stays with the film, then she’s putting her name on something that she feels doesn’t quite hit the mark.”

Ultimately, Oprah didn’t feel as if the film was ready for its premiere at The Sundance Film Festival at the end of the month. It’s reported she wanted to highlight other #MeToo survivors, but the filmmakers had other plans.