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Russell Simmons on Sex Tape Backlash: They Tried to Paula Deen Me

russell simmonsJust when you thought Russell Simmons couldn’t dig a deeper grave for himself after his Harriet Tubman sex tape scandal, he gives a damaging interview with talk show host Arsenio Hall. Simmons, who has apologized for releasing the sex tape, is still confused over why the backlash was so severe.

“It was this idea that this slave took advantage of a slave master and blackmailed him,”  Simmons said during last week’s taping of “Arsenio Hall Show.” “And it really struck a nerve with people and hurt their feelings, so I pulled it down within a few hours of it going up, and I tried to move on. “

When Simmons is ready to move on, everyone else should as well.

“But a lot of these do-nothing negroes, they were very angry and kept talking, so it’s been very tough for me,” Simmons added. “They tried to turn me into Paula Deen.”

While admitting the video was in “poor taste,” Simmons added that many who complained didn’t take the time to watch the video.

“I mean, it wasn’t my idea. I didn’t produce it, write it … but I gave access to it and I let it play. Most people didn’t see it but complained about it,” he said.

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