Russell Simmons sues HBO Max $20 million for defamation, claims documentary ignored evidence

Music executive Russell Simmons is suing HBO Max, Warner Bros. Discovery, and the makers of the 2020 documentary On the Record for $20 million, accusing them of defamation, causing emotional distress, and invading his privacy. The lawsuit, filed in New York, focuses on Simmons’ argument that the documentary ignored strong evidence that disputed the sexual assault claims made against him.

According to TMZ, Simmons claims that On the Record “ignored or hid” statements from more than 20 witnesses who disagreed with the accusations against him. He says this information was available to top executives at WarnerMedia, HBO Max’s parent company, including CEO John Stankey. The lawsuit also states that civil rights leaders and members of Congress asked HBO to look at the evidence backing Simmons’ denials, though the filing does not name these individuals.

One well-known person mentioned in the lawsuit is Oprah Winfrey. Simmons says Winfrey was originally an executive producer of On the Record but stepped away from the project after pointing out inconsistencies in the accusations against him, saving her high net worth. This detail suggests there may have been doubts within the production about how the documentary handled the allegations before it was released.

On The Record may be in deep legal trouble

A key part of Simmons’ legal case is his claim that the documentary’s producers ignored nine lie detector test results that he says were done with high-level technology, similar to what the CIA uses and that these tests supported his side of the story. Whether these test results will hold up in court is uncertain, but Simmons argues that leaving them out was a major oversight by the filmmakers.

The timing of Simmons’ move out of the United States is also part of the lawsuit. He moved to Bali, Indonesia, in 2018 after the sexual assault claims came out, and he sold his last U.S. property in 2021. He now lives in Bali, where he runs a high-end yoga retreat.

While this move is not directly tied to his legal claims, it helps explain the emotional distress he says he suffered because of how the documentary portrayed him. True Crime is a popular genre, so he may have wanted to get away before the documentary aired.

The lawsuit includes claims of defamation, based on Simmons’ argument that the documentary falsely and harmfully misrepresented him; emotional distress, due to the damage he says was done to his reputation and personal life; and invasion of privacy, for what he calls the unnecessary sharing of private information. The $20 million he is seeking is meant to compensate for the harm he claims the documentary caused through what he says were inaccuracies and unfair bias.