Russell Simmons reportedly was served with court documents by a process server in Bali, Indonesia on March 5. The Def Jam founder was served at the wellness center he owns, the Gdas Bali Health And Wellness Resort.
Simmons has traveled to Bali many times throughout his career but went on a sabbatical in 2017 and hasn’t returned after he was accused of sexual assault by multiple women in a New York Times article.
According to court documents, the 66-year-old record mogul was served by a process server named Daniel John Ayoub who was able to get past two security checkpoints. Ayoub was reportedly seated in the resort’s restaurant when he spotted Simmons and served the surprised resort owner with the court documents.
Simmons was accused of sexual assault by former Def Jam executive Drew Dixon back in 2020 in the documentary, “On the Record.” Dixon accused Simmons of raping her in 1995, and she left the record label soon after. She began working for the label in 1994 as the director of A&R but claimed the record executive immediately began sexually harassing her. Dixon has been speaking about Simmons’ abuse for years and first spoke up in a 2017 New York Times article.
Dixon filed a defamation lawsuit against Simmons in February in the state of New York after he appeared on “In Depth With Graham Besinger” and called her a liar. Ayoub described serving Simmons with notice of the defamation lawsuit in Bali.
“I recognized him as the person named in the service papers as Russell Simmons is a well-known celebrity and widely known in Bali, Indonesia as well as in the United States and other places,” said Ayoub, as stated in court documents.
Russell Simmons shocked by service in defamation suit: "How did these people get in here?" pic.twitter.com/M2nqHDpojK
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) March 26, 2024
“I said ‘Excuse me, Mr. Simmons, sorry to interrupt your meeting.’ I then handed Simmons the service documents in an envelope and said, ‘This is for you’,” as Simmons snatched the envelope and said, “‘What’s this from?’ I replied, ‘You’ve been served from the State of New York.’ Simmons then quickly dropped the envelope on the table and said, ‘Ah f—k, s—t.’”
Ayoub added that he heard Simmons asking his staff how a process server got into the resort, stating, “How did these people get in here?”
He was served on March 5 during the time of Usher’s recent visit to Bali, according to videos Simmons posted on his Instagram page on March 3.
Dixon claims that Simmons tried to “discredit” her following the documentary and is seeking an undisclosed amount in punitive damages for malicious conduct. Simmons was also accused of assaulting multiple other women but has denied all accusations against him.
He also claimed that he passed several lie detector tests regarding the alleged sexual assaults during his appearance on “In Depth With Graham Besinger.”
“I took nine lie detector tests, people don’t know that,” said Simmons. “Nine separate — seven from the Chairman of the Polygraph Association. One for each and serious accusation.”
Actress Jenny Lumet, who is the granddaughter of the legendary Lena Horne, accused Simmons of rape in an article for The Hollywood Reporter. Simmons admitted to having sex with Lumet but claimed that he was never violent in his sexual relationships.
Simmons has not yet commented on being served in Bali with the defamation lawsuit.
