Oprah Winfrey is reportedly stepping down from her role as executive producer for an upcoming documentary about Russell Simmons. According to TMZ, the talk show legend is not only distancing herself from the project but also blocking its path to Apple TV+.
“I have decided that I will no longer be executive producer on The Untitled Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Documentary and it will not air on Apple TV+,” she reportedly said.”First and foremost, I want it to be known that I unequivocally believe and support the women. Their stories deserve to be told and heard.”
The doc was centered around sexual assault accuser Drew Dixon, who claims the Def Jam Recordings co-founder raped her in his New York City apartment in 1995. She explained more work is needed on the doc to “illuminate the full scope of what the victims endured and it has become clear that the filmmakers and I are not aligned in that creative vision.”
She added she “will be working with Time’s Up to support the victims and those impacted by abuse and sexual harassment.”
Last month, Simmons penned a lengthy Instagram post about the impending documentary and insisted he was innocent. He revealed he was also hurt Oprah would even consider doing the project due to the close friendship they’ve developed over the years.
“I want to stay out of the mud,” he told HipHopDX at the time. “I love Oprah. I’m disappointed.”
Winfrey caught heat from 50 Cent for signing up on the project. He wondered why she only appeared to target black men.
“I don’t understand why Oprah is going after black men,” he captioned an Instagram post. “No Harvey Weinstein, No Epstein, just Michael Jackson and Russell Simmons. this shit is sad. Gale hit R Kelly with the death blow documentary. Every time I hear Micheal Jackson I don’t know whether to dance or think about the little boys butts. These documentary’s are publicly convicting their targets, it makes them guilty till proven innocent.”
[This article has been updated. The following was published on December 13, 2019.]
Russell Simmons has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show five times over the years and as a result, the two moguls developed a “very close” relationship, as Simmons explains to HipHopDX.
So, when the news broke the illustrious talk show host was producing a documentary that focuses on sexual assault accuser Drew Dixon, it understandably blinded-sided the Def Jam Recordings co-founder. “I want to stay out of the mud,” he tells DX. “I love Oprah. I’m disappointed.”
On Friday (December 13), Simmons shared a photo of himself sitting with Oprah and questioned why she believes there’s any truth to the allegations. At the same time, he admitted to being a “womanizer” back in the day.
“Dearest OPRAH, you have been a shining light to my family and my community,” he began. “Contributing so much to my life that I couldn’t list a fraction of it in this blog. I have given you the gift of meditation and the groundbreaking book ”THE POWER OF NOW “we bonded to say the least. This is why it’s so troubling that you choose me to single out in your recent documentary. [apple_news_ad type=”any”]
“I have already admitted to being a playboy more (appropriately titled today ‘womanizer’) sleeping with and putting myself in more compromising situations than almost any man I know. Not 8 or 14 thousand like Warren Beatty or Wilt Chamberlain, but still an embarrassing number. So many that some could reinterpret or reimagine a different recollection of the same experiences.”
Simmons then reminds Oprah he took — and passed — nine lie detector tests for his daughters Aoki Lee and Ming Lee.
“Please note that ur producers said that this upcoming doc was to focus ONLY on 3 hand chosen women,” he continued. “I have refused to get in the mud with any accusers, but let’s acknowledge what i have shared. I have taken and passed nine 3-hour lie detector tests (taken for my daughters), that these stories have been passed on by CNN, NBC, BUZZFEED, NY POST, NY MAG, AND OTHERS. Now that you have reviewed the facts and you SHOULD have learned what I know; that these stories are UNUSABLE and that ‘hurt people hurt people.'”
He also insists he never had to use force to have sex with any women.
“Today I received a call from an old girlfriend from the early 1980s which means that they are using my words/evidence against me and their COMMITMENT / (all of the claims are 25 to 40 years old),” he concluded. “It is impossible to prove what happened 40 years ago, but in my case proof exists of what didn’t happen, mostly signed letters from their own parents, siblings, roommates, band members, interns, and in the case of 2 of your 3 accusers, their own words in their books.
“Shocking how many people have misused this important powerful revolution for relevance and money. Maybe you should name your documentary ‘FLAVOR OF LOVE!?’ In closing, I am guilty of exploiting, supporting, and making the soundtrack for a grossly unequal society, but i have never been violent or forced myself on anyone.”
Simmons adds, “Still I am here to help support a necessary shift in power and consciousness. Let us get to work on uplifting humanity and put this moment and old narrative behind.”
50 Cent, who evidently caught wind of Simmons’ Instagram post, shared a similar photo of Simmons with Oprah and questioned why she seemed to only target black men — in true 50 Cent fashion.
“I don’t understand why Oprah is going after black men,” he captioned the post. “No Harvey Weinstein, No Epstein, just Michael Jackson and Russell Simmons. this shit is sad. Gale hit R Kelly with the death blow documentary. Every time I hear Micheal Jackson I don’t know whether to dance or think about the little boys butts. These documentary’s are publicly convicting their targets, it makes them guilty till proven innocent.”
Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times reported Oprah is serving as the executive producer for a new documentary focusing on “a brilliant former music executive who grapples with whether to go public with her story of assault and abuse by a notable figure in the music industry.”
The film reportedly centers on Dixon who accused Simmons of raping her in his Manhattan apartment in 1995.
russell is a weirdo. what is more likely? that a power-hungry businessman with addiction issues and a hard chauvinistic streak never forced one of the admitted thousands of women he was engaged with sexually? or that he used his power and influence to get what he wanted and at times was either willfully ignoring or somehow oblivious to the fact some women were not down with it?
facts.. dude over here braggin about his cocaine use and callin himself a womanizer. its hard to give him the benefit of the doubt in this case..sounds like he’s protecting his ass…especially when he says how can you prove shit that happened 25-40 yrs ago lol
I understand where you coming from, but it amazes me Harvey Weinstein was one of the first to get caught in the me too movement, and because he is white nobody chooses to make a documentary about him or mention him.
I both feel where you’re coming from and feel like its a bit shortsighted to think like that. Weinstein is facing criminal charges, has lost his main business and is losing millions. Russell is not facing those level of consequences as of yet.
at the same time, you have a point. with existing media bias/racism at large, people of color and especially black men get an overwhelming amount of attention and conversation. That said, in this specific comparison, Simmons is still facing less of a real, tangible backlash than Weinstein.
When a black man work hard to establish himself and accomplish his work as a person they always send our own to tear us down its been happening since the beginning of time and apparently it’s still going on til this day and it’s sad why don’t she do a doc on Weinstein and Epstein she wouldn’t cause their her friends she befriended micheal Jackson as well because we all know she is trying to preserve her position but god don’t like ugly it’s so obvious what she’s doing and it makes me sick is the blacks that watch her show that made her who she is today ratings showing support for our own but look now she attacking her own what a slap in the face…..
It’s not about skin color dumbass. It’s about POWER and MONEY. These black men having documentaries made about them have never dreamed about the wealth and power of someone like Harvey Weinstein. Also, Oprah is literally complicit in covering up for Weinstein, because her handlers are the same people. Oprah is not an ally to the average human being. She is agaisnt all of us, not just white or black. She’s evil.
I both feel where you’re coming from and feel like its a bit shortsighted to think like that. Weinstein is facing criminal charges, has lost his main business and is losing millions. Russell is not facing those level of consequences as of yet. at the same time, you have a point. with existing media bias/racism at large, people of color and especially black men get an overwhelming amount of attention and conversation. That said, in this specific comparison, Simmons is still facing less of a real, tangible backlash than Weinstein.
Exactly. Nobody is going after Wenstein because he still has allies in powerful places. Oprah maybe a billionaire but she smart enough not to go against old white men in Hollywood
It’s not because he’s white dumbass hahah. It’s because of the power and money he wields. Go ahead, make a documentary about him. Your life will be ruined. Think… This is all about power struggles, not skin color. It’s the same reason. HILLARY CLINTON is impervious to the law. Not because she’s white. Because she wields power worldwide, and to take her down would be to take down global criminal syndicates.
Lie detectors don’t actually do anything. They’re pseudo science bs machines, which is why they aren’t even used in court cases most of the time. The fact that he passed them means nothing. And who cares if Oprah blindsided you Rush, you blindsided the black community with your predatory ass Rush cards.
RUSSELL TALK FUNNY. THEREFORE, HE’S GUILTY AF.
Y’all sound mad weak and jealous in here. Yes it is hard to prove anything one way or the other if it happened 25 years ago, and just because he’s a dawg doesn’t deem him a rapist. Yes he’s been wealthy and powerful within the industry which is all the more reason a woman could possibly lie about these situations.
“Dawg” is one or two steps from full-fledged rapist.
@NotISaidTheAbuser you sound like a straight up flake. You better not be a dude sounding this much like a whiny lil bitch
Yes they should only allow accusations against *WHITE* men to be public, they should hush-hush any accusations against a minority.
Glad you agree.
Exactly. Take accountability for your actions, tf
You know damn well all those nonblack men are let off with minimal punishment! They only put up the nonblack men initially as a smokescreen to then go after their real target. They after the estates of these black men!
And you care? I’m white. Go ahead, talk about only white rapists on a talk show/documentary. Just don’t make it ABOUT race, claiming being evil is exclusive to a skin color. I really don’t give two shits if they only talk about one race, as a rapist is a sub human scumbag. They are not human. They all deserve to burn in fucking hell. My family always thought I was a bit of a conspiracy nut, until Epstein was arrested, as I had been saying for years he holds the keys to taking down some global human trafficking rings, involving powerful household names. They thought I was being ignorant. Little did they know, all that info was proven, and public domain for over a decade.
50 is being real on a higher level. He knows who Oprah caters to, on set and behind the scenes.
And Beastie Boys sucked. They just had some hype production and a catchy hook here and there. Trash group, explains why they made less music over the years. They weren’t much to begin with.
MCA died. You’re a moron.
Both Oprah and 50 cater to the same handlers dummy. Both are bad human beings, and slaves to the industry. Love 50s music, but as a human, he is scum.
Oprah is a snake, just like 50 Cent.
Embarrasing number? I didn’t know sleeping with tons of women was a bad thing if you STD free
Well “James” if you you’re a believer of Christ you should know that it is a shameful thing. It’s only cool because “culture” has been selling it to you since day one.
I agree with 50 on this. She does seem to focus on the brothers. Could it be she was sexually abused by one when she was young?
No, she is an abuser herself. Look into it. She’s involved in human trafficking. Idc who she focuses on though. Focus on white men, I don’t give two fucks. Scumbags are scumbags. I really and truly don’t care if a TV Host only looks at one race of rapists. Because rapists are sub human. I’m white, go ahead, only talk about white rapists. Just don’t pretend it’s exclusive to skin color. That’s all I ask. Don’t use the talk to demonize a race, but rather, and evil culture.
Boo Hoo.
Is this the shit you gotta do to get out of the raft of Oprah and Me Too? Jeesh! Bitches want money and power. Be careful.
I would love if Oprah made a documentary about me! She can say all the bad stuff I did to Guru, I don’t care all clout is good clout amirite guys.
I wanna know when asia asante will get a meyoo documentary for pedophilia on teen boys…oh wait shes a woman nvm
Hush money?
Hey my name is roger the barber cuckold ill give you the most banging fade while my wife bounces on you monsta thivk black cock serious inquiries only (412)609-6385
It’s only right, salute the hierarchy of the community for putting that positive pressure on her and the ones around her that verified the problem. She’s gotta do a series on celebrity abuse
We got a million white boy serial killer docs. Jeff Epstein gets murdered basically in public and we tryna shut down black women speaking up because harvey Weinstein doesnt have a doc about him YET? Please. Yall fuckin weak ass trash. Horrible goddamn argument.
Agreed. Hey, if she wants to only talk about white scumbags, it wouldn’t even bother me as a white person. Why would it? I mean, scumbags are scumbags. Outting them to the public is a positive thing, no matter who is behind it.
Thats the diff.. normal whites want our trash outted. Blacks wanna protect their trash
Yup. White people hate trashy white people. I’ll be the first white person to hate other whites for being trash. I don’t want or need to be viewed negatively for my race, due to some other jackass who doesn’t know how to behave.
Oprah is part of the pedofile elite. Look into it… Oprah is evil.
Those making this about race are blinded idiots. This isn’t about skin color, it’s about POWER. These black rapists have never been able to dream about having the power that Harvey Weinstein wielded. Oprah herself was complicit in covering for Weinstein for multiple decades. Oprah herself, and 50, are evil. I repeat. Not about skin color. About POWER.
Everything in America HAS TO boil down to race… EVERYTHING!
This is such an important topic and we’re focusing on race… I’m personally shocked at the number of rapists, seems like nearly every man has sexually assaulted/harrassed a woman or a child! Shit I gotta look around and make sure my people’s ain’t living that way! It’s embarrassing!
FYI PBS did an hour long Doc on Weinstein almost 2 years ago so stfu with that race card shit.
Oprah would’ve believed Nikki Yovino.
Oprah promotes people who traffic kids. She was a Clinton hanger on for years. She loved Bill Clinton and went silent when all the Haiti stuff went down. Kids were sold to “relief” workers Hill and Bill brought in. Oprah also vouched for John Of God. Look that guy up, he’s the devil. Unreal nobody calls Orca out on her love of pedddddy files and rapists.