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.

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.

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Ahead 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.

The Untitled will premiere at The Sundance Film Festival at the end of the month, and the documentary will put Russell Simmons’s #MeToo accusers in the limelight. The film has already caused quite a stir after Oprah Winfrey was named as an executive producer—a role that she recently shared she’d be stepping away from.

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In a statement to PEOPLE, the OWN mogul shared that due to “creative” differences with the documentary’s filmmakers, she no longer wanted her name attached to the project. Both Russell Simmons, who has denied all sexual misconduct accusations against him, and 50 Cent openly criticized Oprah for her association with The Untitled. Some people allege that due to pressure from the public, Oprah decided to disassociate from the film. According to her best friend Gayle King, that isn’t the case.

“I know this was a very stressful and very difficult decision for her to take her name off because she knows that her taking her name off because, as you point out, Russell has done a very public and very private campaign to convince her, she knows that the message that sends is that maybe she was muzzled,” King stated on CBS This Morning. “Nothing can be further from the case.”

King clarified why Oprah made the ultimate decision to part ways with the filmmakers, including that the former executive producer wanted more women involved in the film. “She thought that the documentary needed to breathe a little more,” King reportedly added. “She thought that it was important that it be put in context for the times because you know these allegations [are] from many years ago and now we’re here in 2020. Put it in context of the times of what was going on there at that time.” 

Oprah isn’t one to shy away from using her platform to address scandals, so we’re sure this won’t be the last time she’s involved in a project such as this.

Weeks after being called out by 50 Cent and Russell Simmons, media mogul Oprah Winfrey has reportedly canceled her plans on executive producing her #MeToo Apple TV+ documentary titled The United. It was recently announced that Winfrey was working on sharing the story of Drew Dixon, a former music executive who has made claims that she was raped and sexually harassed by Russell Simmons. The Def Jam icon has adamantly denied the allegations.

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Rapper 50 Cent suggested Winfrey specifically targets black men accused of sexual assault. “No Harvey Weinstein, No Epstein, just Micheal jackson and Russell Simmons this sh*t is sad,” the Power executive wrote on Instagram. Simmons would later pen a lengthy message on social media speaking directly to Winfrey.

“Shocking how many people have misused this important powerful revolution for relevance and money,” Simmons wrote. “Maybe you should name your documentary ‘FLAVOR OF LOVE’!? 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.”

In a statement to PEOPLE, Winfrey revealed she’d be stepping away from the project. “I have decided that I will no longer be executive producer on The Untitled Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Documentary and it will not air on Apple TV+,” Winfrey said. “First and foremost, I want it to be known that I unequivocally believe and support the women Their stories deserve to be told and heard.”

She added that her reason for ditching the project had to do with “creative vision,” not because of pressure from the public. “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,” Winfrey continued. “Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering are talented filmmakers. I have great respect for their mission but given the filmmakers’ desire to premiere the film at the Sundance Film Festival before I believe it is complete, I feel it’s best to step aside. I will be working with Time’s Up to support the victims and those impacted by the abuse and sexual harassment.”

Meanwhile, Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering issued a statement of their own. “Revealing hard truths is never easy, and the women in our documentary are all showing extraordinary strength and courage by raising their voices to address sexual abuse in the music industry,” they told PEOPLE. “While we are disappointed that Oprah Winfrey is no longer an Executive Producer on the project, we are gratified that Winfrey has unequivocally said she believes and supports the survivors in the film.”

“The #MeToo experiences of Black women deserve to be heard, especially against powerful men, so we will continue with our plans to bring the film to The Sundance Film Festival,” they added. “This film more than two years in the making, will be our eighth to premiere at Sundance. The film is a beacon of hope for voices that have long been suppressed, and an inspiration for anyone wanting to regain their personal power.”