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Last year, Russell Simmons was accused of raping and sexually assaulting 12 women.
In an attempt to avoid the controversy, the hip mogul spent a year in Bali and has recently been spotted in the Hamptons and NYC. Reported on Page Six, Simmons said that he’s had welcoming experiences so far since he’s been back in America.
“People wanted to throw dinners for me at their houses in the Hamptons . . . I went to a Southampton event and it was all the bankers — you could have blown up all the money in the world at one time — and not one person said anything negative to me.”
However, that’s not the same energy he received at a popular yoga studio he enjoys going to. Modo Yoga in NYC reportedly emailed Russell Simmons and asked him to steer clear of their West Village fitness studio. Customers felt “triggered” with Simmons there.
The owners of Modo Yoga said, “We do not pass judgment, gossip or comment on any of our students . . . However, when we receive complaints from students who are uncomfortable because of another student’s alleged conduct outside of Modo, we are put in a difficult position.”
Simmons said that he felt deeply hurt and disappointed by it. “Guilty by accusation, I don’t believe is a good way to go forward,” the CEO of Rush Communications said.
The accusations made against Simmons date back to the late 1980s. He denied all allegations under oath in June. His legal team is trying to get the case dismissed.