Press Play with Madeleine Brand
‘On the Record’ documentary looks at black women’s allegations against Russell Simmons
The #MeToo movement has ended careers and landed men in prison. But when the accuser is a black woman, her accusations often don’t have the same impact.
By Madeleine Brand • • 1 min readThe #MeToo movement has ended careers and landed men in prison. But when the accuser is a black woman, her accusations often don’t have the same impact. That’s the argument put forward in the documentary “On the Record.”
It looks at the multiple accusations against Russell Simmons, hip-hop mogul and co-founder of Def Jam records.
“On the Record” is told mostly through the eyes of Drew Dixon. She made her way up the ladder at Def Jam, working with some of the biggest names in hip-hop, like Mary J. Blige and Method Man.
But Dixon says her life changed after she was allegedly raped by Simmons in 1995.
She is one of more than a dozen women who have publicly accused Simmons. Several of them are featured in the documentary, which is currently streaming on HBO Max.
