Russell Simmons has filed a lawsuit against HBO, claiming defamation over the film “On The Record.”
His lawyers said, “Despite voluminous support for Mr. Simmons in the form of credible information, persuasive evidence, witness statements, and calls for further investigation by notable members of the media, politics, and the civil rights movement, the defendants simply disregarded it, and released, and continue to re-release globally, a film that tremendously disparaged and damaged Mr. Simmons with its salacious and defamatory accusations, that he vehemently denies.”
According to reports, Simmons has claimed that HBO Max “ignored mountains of evidence refuting the sexual assault claims against him when it produced a documentary about the cases.” He is currently seeking $20 million from the streaming platform.
Court documents say that the 2020 documentary did not include the 20 witnesses that went against the allegations that multiple women made against him. The media mogul also said that the information was readily available for anyone who asked for them.
A spokesperson for Warner Bros./Discovery released a statement and said, “We dispute Mr. Simmons’ allegations, stand by the filmmakers and their process, and will vigorously defend ourselves against these unfounded allegations.”