A woman who accuses music mogul Russell Simmons of raping her in his New York office in the 1980s revealed new details on Tuesday.
“I was trying to maneuver and get out of it,” Sherri Hines said during an appearance on NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today.” “He just held me down ... Next thing I know, my pants was down and he was having his way.”
Hines said she was 17 or 18, part of an all-female hip-hop group, when Simmons, now 60, asked her to visit his office around 1983. She said she hoped to talk business, but was “pinned down” on his couch and raped.
Hines said she told Simmons “no,” but he didn’t stop. After Simmons “finished,” Hines said she ran from his office crying, and immediately told her friend what had happened. The friend encouraged Hines to tell her mother, but Hines refused, saying she worried she would be blamed.
“I felt embarrassed, I felt used, worthless,” she said. “The way I felt at the time was ... I can’t believe this man just violated me like I was nothing.”
Hines is one of 12 women who have accused Simmons of sexual misconduct. Five of the accusers, including Hines, say Simmons raped them.
New York City police said this month they were investigating the allegations. Simmons vehemently denies raping anyone.
“I will prove without any doubt that I am innocent of all rape charges,” Simmons wrote in an Instagram post last week, using the hashtag #NotMe. “My intention is not to diminish the #MeToo movement in anyway, but instead hold my accusers accountable.”
Simmons was first publicly accused of sexual harassment last month by writer Jenny Lumet. The allegations prompted him to step down from the entertainment and clothing companies he founded. Other women have since stepped forward.
Hines, whose story was first reported by the Los Angeles Times last week, said Tuesday that she has been contacted by New York police, but hadn’t yet been interviewed.
Another Simmons accuser, Natashia Williams-Blach, joined Hines on Kelly’s show. Williams-Blach said she was 18 when Simmons tried to force her to perform oral sex on him after a yoga class in Los Angeles.
“If I could see that 18-year-old girl today, of course, I would assure her that it’s not her fault,” Williams-Blach said.