Russell Simmons has announced that he's stepping away from his businesses amid sexual assault allegations.

Deadline reports that the mogul has been accused of sexual assault by Jenny Lumet, the daughter of director Sidney Lumet and the screenwriter of Rachel Getting Married and other films. In a guest column in The Hollywood Reporter this morning (Nov. 30), Lumet alleges that Simmons sexually assaulted her. In graphic terms, Lumet recalls a night when, after claiming he would give a ride home, Simmons instead instructed the driver to lock the doors, and take her to his home. There, he sexually assaulted her, she claimed.

Simmons had been named previously in an alleged assault that was intertwined with his longtime friend Brett Ratner. In a statement he just issued, Simmons says he is now stepping down from his businesses.

"As the corridors of power inevitably make way for a new generation, I don’t want to be a distraction so I am removing myself from the businesses that I founded," he wrote. "The companies will now be run by a new and diverse generation of extraordinary executives who are moving the culture and consciousness forward."

You can read Simmons' full statement below.

“I have been informed with great anguish of Jenny Lumet’s recollection about our night together in 1991. I know Jenny and her family and have seen her several times over the years since the evening she described. While her memory of that evening is very different from mine, it is now clear to me that her feelings of fear and intimidation are real. While I have never been violent, I have been thoughtless and insensitive in some of my relationships over many decades and I sincerely and humbly apologize.

This is a time of great transition. The voices of the voiceless, those who have been hurt or shamed, deserve and need to be heard. As the corridors of power inevitably make way for a new generation, I don’t want to be a distraction so I am removing myself from the businesses that I founded. The companies will now be run by a new and diverse generation of extraordinary executives who are moving the culture and consciousness forward. I will convert the studio for yogic science into a not-for-profit center of learning and healing. As for me, I will step aside and commit myself to continuing my personal growth, spiritual learning and above all to listening.

Russell Simmons

 

25 Historic Moments in Run-DMC's Career
 

More From Majic 93.3