When DJ Envy of The Breakfast Club shared yesterday that Russell Simmons would be joining the show on Wednesday (June 10), there was a little pushback from the public. Not everyone was happy to hear about the interview, especially Sil Lai Abrams, a woman who accused Russell Simmons of raping her back in 1994. She took to her Twitter account to call out The Breakfast Club and its hosts, calling them "rape apologists" in her tweet.

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During Simmons's video conference appearance, the Def Jam icon refuted claims that he behaved inappropriately. "I could never say that someone doesn't feel victimized," Russell Simmons said. "Thirty years ago... These stories are twenty-five to forty-years-old. I can't say someone doesn't feel victimized. I can tell you that I don't feel that I victimized them. And how can I say that? I took nine separate three-hour lie detector tests by two separate teachers. Polygraph. So I just want to share that. They're available to you. I just wanted to say that, and I don't know what else to say other than I feel terrible."
Then, Simmons said that during Oprah Winfrey's investigation, he read a report by one woman and said he "believed her." He stated, "She said she got in the car and the car door locked. My first instinct was sh*t, the car doors lock in 1990. Cadillacs. So, it was a misunderstanding as far as I can tell. But I believe her. But I also passed nine tests because I believe me." Russell Simmons added that while he does feel terrible for the women who were "victimized." he isn't the "monster" that people are painting him out to be. Check out Simmons's explanation below and let us know if you watched the controversial On the Record documentary.
View this post on Instagram"The Breakfast Club" Criticized By Alleged Victim Of Russell Simmons Over Interview
"The Breakfast Club" is catching heat after it was shared that they would be interviewing Russell Simmons amid his dozens of allegations of sexual assault.
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.
Russell Simmons Accuser "Not Surprised" Oprah Winfrey Left Doc
Oprah says she wasn’t’ pressured to back out, but this accuser thinks otherwise.
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.
Dia Dipasupil / Staff / Getty ImagesSil 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.
Russell Simmons’s Accusers Detail Alleged Rapes Ahead Of Documentary
The ladies didn’t hold back when sharing their stories.
On January 25, the documentary starring Russell Simmons’s sexual assault accusers is set to premiere at The Sundance Film Festival. The already-controversial film was thrust into even more scandal after it was revealed that Oprah Winfrey was acting as an executive producer. Both 50 Cent and Russell Simmons publicly denounced the OWN mogul’s inclusion, and later, Oprah announced that she was distancing herself from the project due to “creative vision” differences. The Def Jam mogul has vehemently denied the sexual misconduct accusations against him.
Vivien Killilea / Stringer / Getty ImagesAhead of the film’s premiere, three women who have accused Simmons of assault—Drew Dixon, Sil Lai Abrams, and Alexia Norton Jones—sat down with CBS This Morning to share their stories. “I hope that black women and girls become more visible as a result of this documentary,” said Dixon. “This is violently tackled and raped — while saying no and fighting and crying.”
“I literally worked for him,” she continued. “He was ordering me a car, and he told me to come upstairs and pick up a demo. I thought I would be in his apartment for five total minutes. That’s it. And he showed up naked, wearing a condom and tackled me to his bed, while I screamed and fought and said, ‘No,’ and cried. That’s rape.”
Abrams said she dated Simmons in the early 1990s and alleges that he raped her, as well. “He’ll say, ‘Yes, we had a sexual relationship,’ but he cannot address the fact that I was too drunk to consent, and that the next day I called him up, screaming,” Abrams stated. “And I attempted suicide. He knew, and I told him why, that he had ruined my life, and that I had nothing.”
Meanwhile, Jones accuses Simmons of raping her in 1991 on their first date. “This was a very swift attack, and what was going through my mind more than anything was, ‘Why?’ Because I liked Russell,” Jones said. “And I, you know, I would’ve just kissed him. I would’ve made out with him. I would’ve — he didn’t have to attack me. He raped me right up against the f*cking wall. Excuse my language. But he — that’s what he did. I had to keep this secret.” Watch the clip below.






