Music mogul Russell Simmons has been hit with another accusation of rape and is once again denying it.
Alexa Norton Jones, the granddaughter of book publisher W.W. Norton, accused Simmons of assaulting her in November 1990.
“It was such a fast attack,” she told Variety in an exclusive interview. “He pulled my dress up. I must have said no seven to 10 times.”
Jones, who was 31 at the time, said she had gone with Simmons to his new apartment, which he had bought from a pop star. The two started kissing, but things quickly went wrong, Jones said.
Jones told Variety:
Within a few minutes, he got what he thought was amorous. What was shocking to me was that it wasn’t. It was one of these things, where he had so many hands on me. But he only has two hands. It began with us kissing. There was something about kissing him, his heart was racing. It seemed out of pace, like he wasn’t relaxed. My mind went to, “Is he on something?” I also thought, “How could I be such an idiot?” Here I am, I’m trusting him. I had been a survivor of sexual abuse as a young teenager.
Jones said she did not want to go further but Simmons continued to attack her anyway.
I didn’t want to go further. It was such a fast attack. It was literally an attack. Because he was overweight, I remember thinking it was like being attacked by a flabby walrus. I remember being pushed up against a wall. He pulled my dress up. I must have said no seven to 10 times, and then I acquiesced. It was very fast. I would say it happened in less than 10 minutes. This is what baffled me. I had willingly gone there. I went there and I would have been intimate with him. Why he did he have to take from me what wasn’t his?
Jones was hesitant to confide in anyone about the alleged attack, since she and Simmons had the same friends, but noted that she later confided in her therapist, who confirmed to Variety that Jones had spoken to her about the alleged attack.
However, Simmons has refuted these claims, insisting that he didn’t sexually assault anyone, referencing back to the lie-detector tests he has taken since being accused by dozens of women of sexual assault.
“I’m deeply saddened by this story from Alexia,” Simmons said. “At no time did she share these feelings about her first sexual encounter with me, which took place roughly 28 years ago. I have taken multiple lie detector tests that affirm I never sexually assaulted anyone. Alexia and I dated, were intimate and attended multiple events together after she alleges the incident occurred in 1990. I considered her a friend for all these years and continue to have a warm relationship with members of her family. I believe we last spoke in 2006 when she called to express her disappointment over the fact that I had not attended an event honoring her father.”