Russell Simmons sued by ex Def Jam producer for alleged rape in the ’90s

Oh, Bethenny Frankel…

Taylor Swift’s father assaulted a member of the paparazzi in Sydney, following the conclusion of the ‘Eras’ tour in Australia.Per a report from Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald on the morning of Tuesday (February 27), police are investigating Taylor’s father Scott Kingsley Swift after a complaint was made by paparazzo Ben McDonald regarding an alleged assault.McDonald told the Sydney Morning Herald that he was “just out on the job chasing Taylor” as she “got off a super-yacht at Neutral Bay and walked up the wharf with an umbrella over her head”. He added that she had “a couple of security [guards] around her,” and that they “sort of pushed us around with the umbrellas.”The paparazzo alleges that “her dad decided to add to the mix and throw a punch in”, leaving him sore but uninjured.

A record producer who used to work with Sean “Diddy” Combs is the latest individual to sue the music mogul.

March 21–April 20

Martin Scorsese accepted the PGA’s David O. Selznick Achievement Award tonight and took the Hollywood & Highland Ovation Ballroom down memory lane — about 60 years ago, when he accepted a PGA award for his student film, It’s Not Just You, Murray!, at the ripe age of 22 years old.

EXCLUSIVE: The “Pay It Forward” PSA was launched during the Producers Guild Awards tonight, featuring a group of producers discussing producing.

FX‘s The Bear cleaned up at the Screen Actors Guild Awards winning all three top comedy series awards including Best Ensemble, Best Actor for Jeremy Allen White and Best Actress for Ayo Edebiri.

Beloved Morning TV star, Fern Britton, who regularly brought smiles to viewers across the nation as co-host of This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield, is set to step into the Celebrity Big Brother house. Fern, 66, charmed audiences on the popular ITV show from 1999 up until her departure in 2009, often presenting with Phil.

Rumours surrounding Jordan North's next career move have started circulating, following the news that he is set to leave BBC Radio 1. His co-star Vick Hope has now dropped a huge hint that Jordan could be eyeing up another reality TV stint, with Celebrity Big Brother due to launch next month. Jordan, 34, announced he will be leaving the BBC after 10 years later this month.

“Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” 1966’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s World,” 1970’s “Super Bad” and 1974’s “The Payback” — James Brown’s recording career was decimated by the disco explosion in the mid-’70s.“Such an interesting time, especially in New York, there’s everything happening,” says Mick Jagger in the new four-part A&E documentary “James Brown: Say It Loud,” which the Rolling Stone legend executive-produced with Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.“You’ve got punk happening, disco happening, all getting mixed up. A lot of other people were sort of left behind in this, ’cause this is a huge change, a sea change, in the musical scene.”And Part 3 of “Say It Loud” — which premieres tonight, along with Part 4 — reveals that Brown was “annoyed” about how much disco borrowed from his blueprint.“I’m the one who started disco,” says the Godfather of Soul in the doc.

Boy George has been accused of “ripping off” Kylie Minogue in his latest single. The British singer, 62, released his new track “Religion,” where the artwork has the singer with his signature hat and beard, standing against a backdrop that looks like a sunset, with the name and title of the single written across the image.

Manchester United moved closer to the top four with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Luton Town at Kenilworth Road on Sunday.

Burbank Police Department report.The influencer had allegedly been in a verbal argument that turned physical with a woman in a hotel, according to TMZ, citing sources. Police revealed to the outlet the woman did not need medical attention.The extent of the woman’s relationship with the social media star is unknown.Authorities released Johnson after he posted a $50,000 bail.He is due to appear in court on March 5, the outlet added.Johnson, who has more than 27.7 million followers on TikTok and an additional two million on Instagram, is known for his viral videos where he reacts enraged while he reviews videos across social media.The Chicago native began posting content to his “Angry Reactions” TikTok page in 2020.He skyrocketed into fame with a post he made that same year.

EXCLUSIVE: Production has wrapped on indie feature Bad Man, starring Seann William Scott (American Pie) alongside Johnny Simmons (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Rob Riggle (21 Jump Street), Chance Perdomo (After We Fell), Andre Hyland (Barry), and Lovi Poe (Chelsea Cowboy).

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Just two days after Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons was sued for rape by a former Def Jam executive, he was hit on Thursday with another lawsuit for a former employee, Drew Dixon, who has leveled claims of sexual assault against him in the past. She is suing Simmons for defamation for calling her a “liar” after she made those statements, according to court documents filed Thursday and obtained by Variety; the lawsuit was first reported by Rolling Stone. Dixon, who worked as a Def Jam A&R executive from 1993 until 1995, filed suit in New York on Thursday and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

Caroline Brew editor The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and low budget film producers have teamed up to form a new subcommittee aimed at ensuring workers are free from harassment and discrimination. The group seeks to implement the Hollywood Commission’s Respect on Set program, which offers employers who are signatories of IATSE’s Low Budget Agreement services to create workplaces free from harassment and discrimination. According to the Hollywood Commission’s recent surveys of entertainment workers, workers on low budget productions experience more sexual coercion and assault, along with great rates of gender and racial bias, compared to their major-studio counterparts.

David Benedict Enraged by the British government charging the standard 15% sales tax on tickets for Live Aid, Bob Geldof (Craige Els) bullies his way into a meeting with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (sparky Julie Atherton). Ever intransigent, she responds with dialogue lifted from Bernie Taupin and Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” before they argue with each other unexpectedly as a rap.

A second girl has come forward as police investigate an alleged rape in Rochdale over the weekend. Four secondary school-aged boys were arrested following an alleged incident at the Morrisons car park in Newbold on at around 6pm on Saturday (February 10).

Russell Simmons is facing claims of sexual harassment and battery, brought forward by a former executive at Def Jam Recordings.The rap and hip-hop heavyweight – who co-founded the label with producer Rick Rubin – is accused by a former employee of “derailing” her career after raping her in the 1990s, according to a new lawsuit.The plaintiff, going as “Jane Doe” filed the lawsuit in New York federal court on Tuesday (February 13), accusing the mogul of sexual assault and battery, as well as stalling her career.According to the court filing (via The Guardian), “Ms Doe’s career in the music industry was disrupted and derailed by a devastating experience at the hands of Mr Simmons.” It also states that she and Simmons had a professional working relationship at first, before he later “revealed his true colours” and “disabled Ms Doe’s career at Def Jam, a job she loved, at the height of her success and financial viability” through his “assaultive behaviour”.Simmons has not yet responded to requests for comment, however, is expected to deny all accusations raised against him. This comes as, following other accusations of sexual assault and rape in 2017, he shared a statement stating: “I completely and unequivocally deny the horrendous allegations of non-consensual sex against me with every fibre of my being.”In Tuesday’s filing, Doe outlined a specific incident.

A former senior executive at Def Jam Recordings is suing the label’s co-founder Russell Simmons, alleging he raped her in 1997 and that was sexually harassed, assaulted and battered during their time working together.