Model claims Russell Simmons raped her in shower while filmmaker Brett Ratner ‘sat there and watched’

A former model has come forward to claim she was forced to have sex with hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons when she was just 17.

Keri Claussen attends Victoria’s Secret Fall Lingerie Collection Fashion Show (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

…while filmmaker Brett Ratner, no stranger to sexual misconduct accusations, sat by and watched!

(Photo by Dale Wilcox/WireImage)

Keri Claussen Khalighi told The Los Angeles Times she met Ratner and Simmons at a casting call and the men would take her out to dinner one night in 1991 and then back to Simmon’s New York apartment to show her a music video they’d been working on, the newspaper reported.

Getty Russell Simmons, Brett Ratner
(Photo by Chris Weeks/WireImage)

Khalighi said once in the apartment, Simmons became sexually aggressive, yanking off her clothes.

“I looked over at Brett and said ‘help me’ and I’ll never forget the look on his face,” she recalled. “In that moment, the realization fell on me that they were in it together.”

More from The Times:

Khalighi said that Simmons, who was then about twice her age, tried to force her to have intercourse. “I fought it wildly,” she said. He eventually relented and coerced her to perform oral sex, she alleged. “I guess I just acquiesced.”

Ratner, meanwhile, “just sat there and watched,” she said.

Feeling “disgusting,” Khalighi said she went to take a shower. Minutes later, she alleged, Simmons walked up behind her in the shower and briefly penetrated her without her consent. She said she jerked away, then he left. “It hurt so much.”

 

The Def Jam records co-founder denied the allegation, saying in a statement that “everything that occurred between Keri and me occurred with her full consent and participation.”

Ratner let his lawyer speak for him, with attorney Martin Singer telling The Times his client had “no recollection” of Khalighi asking him for help and denied witnessing her “protest.”

Getty Simmons, Ratner
(Photo by Christopher Polk/VF11/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

Six women, including actress Olivia Munn, have accused Ratner of sexual misconduct in the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal that has blown the lid off predatory behavior in Hollywood, according to The Times.

Actress Olivia Munn (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)

Another woman, Melanie Kohler, claims she was raped by Ratner — he’s suing her for defamation.

Variety reported earlier this month that Ratner and Simmons were investigated for an alleged sexual battery in 2001 in Beverly Hills, but no charges were filed.

Police said the unidentified woman claimed the two men held her against her will and that both touched her unlawfully.

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.
Tom Tillison

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Latest Articles