Hip-hop producer Russell Simmons hit with $10m rape lawsuit, as sex assault dialogue continues

A 16th woman has come out against hip-hop entrepreneur and Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons.

Identified only as Jane Doe, she has slapped him with a $10 million lawsuit accusing him of rape.

In court documents filed in LA County Superior Court Jane Doe claimed she and her young son attended a concert in Sacramento by an act working for Simmons

Simmons, took them backstage to meet the act, and invited her to an after-party

She dropped off her son with a babysitter and the two attended the party at a nightclub.

Simmons allegedly told her he needed to get something from his hotel room and they went there.

Once in his room, she says, the 60-year-old threw her onto the bed and threatened her – "I am going to fuck you… I'm going to fuck you or I'm going to fuck your son. You decide.” – before raping her.

The famed music producer has “vehemently” denied the accusations.

In a statement issued to media outlets, Simmons said the claims “have shocked me to my core as I have never been abusive or violent in any way in my relations with women.

"I have submitted myself to multiple lie detector tests. I denied forced sex and sexual harassment allegations brought against me in each test; I also answered no to the question, 'Have you ever physically forced any woman to have sexual intercourse?' I passed all of the lie detector tests."

Meanwhile, the dialogue over sexual assault and harassment in the entertainment industry continues.

* Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry has called out the music industry for its double standards.

“There hasn’t been a shakedown of the music industry in the same way as there has been in the film industry, maybe because it’s not unionised in the same way,” she told Dazed.

“But I keep thinking, ‘one day these dominoes are going to fall, surely’.

“Dr. Luke’s in the cold, but beyond that, has there really been much change?

“We’re still promoting and selling records by sexual abusers and rapists.  You can’t say no to one thing and yes to another.”

“You can’t kick Harvey Weinstein out of the canon but still have Woody Allen, Roman Polanski and Bill Cosby in there.

“Come on, guys! Let’s be consistent with our changes!”

* Gene Simmons of Kiss said at a media event in Toronto that while it was “a good thing” that the consequences of  #MeToo and #TimesUp movements were outing “a lot of bad guys who have gotten away with it”, there was a downside.

“The collateral damage is heinous because anybody can say anything and there’s no presumption of innocence.

“That’s the problem; the problem is you don’t have your day in court.”

He said women affected by sexual misconduct should go straight to the court.

“You’ll make more money,” he said. “You’ll embarrass him everyday.

“Instead of in a news conference which gets you no money. I’m totally in support of anything and everything that follows the rule of law.  Get a lawyer. Do it legitimately.”

* Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner told The Associated Press that the #MeToo movement shows a “real absence of due process.”

He said that accusations  of sexual impropriety had seen people lose their jobs although their claims were not corroborated.

“Honestly, I do believe it’s a bit of witch hunt,” Wenner opined.

“It’s difficult to get due process because there’s no real place to adjudicate it except in court, which takes forever.”