Kelly Cutrone Accuses Russell Simmons Of Attempted Rape

Earlier this month, Russell Simmons announced that he would be stepping down from his business ventures in the wake of the numerous sexual allegations filed against him.

Kelly Cutrone Photo Credit: Youtube

Fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone joins this list as the most recent woman to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against the 60-year-old rapper and business mogul.

According to Kelly, Simmons attempted to rape her in his apartment back in 1991 when she was 26-years-old and he was 34.

“He pushed me into his apartment and then he threw me down on the floor and literally tried to grab… take my clothes off of me and I started kicking him really, really hard, screaming, telling him to get the f— off of me. And that I would have him killed if he ever f—— laid a hand on me”  She told Page Six.

She also added that the idea of going to the police felt “overwhelming” at the time.

Simmons responded in a statement to PEOPLE denies all these accusations vehemently and stating that all his relations have been consensual. Here’s what he had to say:

“I am blessed to have shared extraordinary relationships, whether through work or love, with many great women; and I have enormous respect for the women’s movement worldwide and their struggle for respect, dignity, equality and power. I am devastated by any reason I may have given to anyone to say or think of me in the ways that are currently being described. In recent weeks, some former business, creative and romantic partners have aired grievances as claims I categorically reject. In some of these instances, financial motives and direct contradictory witness testimony have been supplied to the media, which has been completely left out of stories. In the last few days, one woman attempted to extort me for $500,000 only to recant her ridiculous claim. The current allegations sent to me by the New York Times and Los Angeles Times range from the patently untrue to the frivolous and hurtful. The presumption of innocent until proven guilty must not be replaced by ‘Guilty by Accusation’”

He concluded by saying,

“I have already apologized for the instances of thoughtlessness in my consensual relations. I have separated myself from my businesses and charities in order to not become a distraction. I have re-dedicated myself to spiritual learning, healing and working on behalf of the communities to which I have devoted my life. I have accepted that I can and should get dirt on my sleeves if it means witnessing the birth of a new consciousness about women. What I will not accept, is responsibility for what I have not done. I have conducted my life with a message of peace and love. Although I have been candid about how I have lived in books and interviews detailing my flaws, I will relentlessly fight against any untruthful character assassination that paints me as a man of violence”

The New York Police Department opened up an investigation of Simmons on Thursday following the accusations which are now over a dozen.