Music mogul Russell Simmons took to Instagram on Thursday morning to fight back against the multiple sexual misconduct accusations levied against him in recent weeks.
"Today, I begin to properly defend myself. I will prove without any doubt that I am innocent of all rape charges," Simmons posted, alongside a stark black-and-white image with the hashtag #NOTME.
Simmons' response comes a day after stories in the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times revealed several new accusations of rape by women against the co-founder of record label Def Jam Recordings. Simmons has denied all allegations.
The accusations against Simmons first came to light in the L.A. Times' Nov. 19 report detailing model Keri Claussen Khalighi's allegations against Simmons and director Brett Ratner.
In Simmons' Instagram post, he said that he would focus Thursday on his first accuser, Khalighi, whose claim "created this insane pile on of my #MeToo."
On Friday, he promised, he would address the accusations of Jenny Lumet.
Simmons did not explain what "focusing" on his accusers meant, but advised followers to "Stay tuned! We'll share information today ... "
"My intention is not to diminish the #MeToo movement in anyway, but instead hold my accusers accountable," Simmons said.
"Again, this is not a movement against or even in conjunction with #Metoo. It's just a statement about my innocence."
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