PR guru Kelly Cutrone has slammed Russell Simmons after he broke his silence on the multiple rape and sexual assault allegations levelled against him in 2017, by staunchly denying everything.

Cutrone, who founded the respected fashion PR house People’s Revolution, previously accused the hip hop mogul of attempting to rape her in 1991 as she joined a long list of 15 women who came forward with similar accounts of sexual misconduct.

Def Jam co-founder Simmons, 66, this week acknowledged that he had previously behaved in a ‘crude’ manner and had been involved in ‘compromising situations’ sexually – but insisted that he had ‘never been violent to anybody.’

‘Of course I’ve been insensitive,’ he told the latest In Depth with Graham Bensinger podcast. ‘But certainly never been forceful in any of my relationships, all of which I’ve had have been consensual.’

Fashion PR guru Kelly Cutrone, 58, has slammed Russell Simmons over his new interview

In the chat, Simmons, 66, denies all claims of rape and sexual assault made against him by at least 15 different women in 2017

Responding to his comments, Cutrone, 58, accused him of having ‘no moral code’ and claimed her experience with him was ‘violent, it was a pounce, it was an attack.’

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, she said: ‘Why talk now? If he was so innocent, then why did it take so long to speak about the allegations? Why haven’t we heard from him in the past two years while he has been hiding away.’

Simmons currently spends most of his time residing in Bali, Indonesia, where his new interview was filmed.

‘If you had slept with as many people as I had slept with – thousands – and we’re talking about like six people,’ he said, the latter number referring to people he says he ‘spoke poorly’ to in the past.

However, Cutrone had no patience for his attempts to claim that he had never been violent as she clapped back: ‘You can treat people who you are in a relationship different to the ones you don’t care about. A lot of guys  will be more respectful to their wife, but not other women.’

She then went on to point out that herself and several of the accusers had never claimed to be in a relationship with Simmons. 

Cutrone previously told the New York Post that she was 26 years old when she ran into Simmons after a party. They went to what she thought was his friend’s place, but now fears it was actually Simmons’ home.

‘He pushed me into his apartment and then he threw me down on the floor and literally tried to grab … take my clothes off of me,’ Cutrone recalled.

Cutrone exclusively told DailyMail.com: ‘It’s like he has zero consciousness for someone who does all that yoga’

The People’s Revolution founder previously claimed the hip hop mogul tried to rape her  in 1991

‘And I started kicking him really, really hard, screaming, telling him to get the f**k off of me. And that I would have him killed if he ever f**king laid a hand on me.’

The City star also said she vividly remembers running out of Simmons’ home as she recalled: ‘I got in a cab and I remember a feeling — which was so crazy — of, ”Oh my god. Somebody just tried to rape me. What do I do?”‘

She added: ‘And then the energy of going to the police and pressing charges against him was overwhelming to me.’

The Kell on Earth star she would call him out in introductions years later as she continued: ‘I’d be at a table and Russell f**king Simmons would come up to the table and then people would be like, “Kelly, do you know Russell?,” and I’d be like, “Yes, I know Russell — he tried to rape me.”‘

Recalling the alleged attack, Cutrone insisted to DailyMail.com: ‘We were never together. It wasn’t like he promised to take me to Italy or do this or do that. When he tried to rape me, it was violent. It was a pounce, it was an attack.’

Cutrone stressed that she had been fully sober when Simmons allegedly attempted to rape her,  stating that ‘in that moment when he pushed me into the apartment, something just clicked inside me and I just fought him off. 

‘Afterwards, I remember thinking I should file but I wasn’t penetrated and I was just in shock.’

Simmons acknowledged that he had previously behaved in a ‘crude’ manner and been involved in ‘compromising situations’ sexually – but insisted that he had ‘never been violent to anybody’

Cutrone, who has starred in several popular reality shows, also shared her confusion about the timing of the interview – highlighting that it has come at a time when one of Simmons’ friends, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, has been accused of sexual abuse.

‘He’s really picked an interesting time to speak out too. Just as Diddy is facing all these lawsuits,’ she said: ‘For me, this is just another example of Russell’s stupidity.

‘He has no moral code, and some horrible PR skills too. What an idiot.’

She added: ‘It’s like he has zero consciousness for someone who does all that yoga’ 

On his Instagram page on Thursday, Simmons denied the allegations and vowed to disprove each of them.

‘Today, I begin to properly defend myself,’ he wrote. ‘I will prove without any doubt that I am innocent of all rape charges. 

‘Today, I will focus on ‘The Original Sin’ (Keri Claussen), the claim that created this insane pile on of my #MeToo. Stay tuned!

‘We’ll share information today… And tomorrow the case of Jenny Lumet. My intention is not to diminish the #MeToo movement in anyway, but instead hold my accusers accountable.

The day before he was pictured hooked up to a lie detector and claimed the results prove he did NOT sexually assault model Keri Claussen Khalighi.

Simmons daughter Aoki posted texts and videos of her interactions with her father in June to highlight their fractured relationship, including screengrabs from a tense FaceTime call

Aoki and her mother Kimora were both critical of Simmons and posted complaints about his behavior to social media – pictured in November 2023

Simmons’ team said the test, believed to have taken place in the LA area, was conducted by a national leader in the field of polygraphing.

The music mogul told Bensinger in his new interview that he has taken nine polygraph tests in an effort to clear his name in the wake of the accusations against him, which were part of the #MeToo movement that commenced in the fall of 2017.

Simmons then admitted that there were ‘very gray’ areas in which he might have processed a memory different than another person involved might have.

‘I can simply tell you that I was in so many compromising situations, that people can have a recollection from 30 or 40 years ago,’ he said, ‘and it can be different from my recollection. And it could be one where there is perhaps a collaboration.’

In the interview, Simmons complained about how the allegations have impacted his life negatively, claiming he has not ‘spoken to anyone for five years.’

He said: ‘It’s ruined my life. It’s ruined my relationships with everything. All my five charities have gone down.’

Meanwhile, Simmons’ family troubles spilled over publicly earlier this year when his ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons, 48, and daughter Aoki Lee Simmons, 21, aired grievances with him in June.

Aoki claimed he had been verbally abusive towards her, sharing text messages and screengrabs of her communications with her father.

In September, Aoki explained to Teen Vogue why she went public with details of their stormy relationship, saying that he had negatively impacted her mental health with his conduct.

Who are the 19 women accusing Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct?

Natashia Williams-Blach

Sherri Hines 

Comedian Amanda Seales

Natashia Williams-Blach 

An actress who appeared in How To Be a Player, a film produced by Simmons, alleges that in 1997, the mogul tried to force her to perform oral sex. 

She was 18 and was visiting him at home at the time. She was able to escape by making excuses, she said. 

Sherri Hines   

A singer, alleges that during a meeting with Simmons in his New York office in 1983, he raped her. 

Hines was an aspiring singer at the time and was known by her stage name Sheri Sher. 

‘It happened so fast that the next thing I know, my pants were down and he was having his way,’ she said last month.

Amanda Seales

The Insecure actress claims that Simmons once asked her during a meeting: ‘Have we ever f****d?’

She made the claim on Instagram last month but gave no further information about when he made the comment 

Drew Dixon

Tina Baker

Toni Sallie 

Two ex-employees at his LA yoga studio

The unidentified women say Simmons say that he often made women feel uncomfortable by creating a sexually charged atmosphere

Drew Dixon 

A former executive at Def Jam recordings, she claims she was raped by Simmons in 1995. 

She was 24 at the time and had been working for Simmons for a year during which time she claims he regularly exposed his erect penis to her and asked her to sit on his lap during meetings 

Tina Baker 

Baker, a singer who Simmons managed in the early 90s, claims he sexually assaulted her after inviting her to his apartment to ‘discuss her career’.

They had been at a nightclub earlier but as soon as they got into his apartment, she claimed he began pouring drinks and trying to kiss her. 

When she tried to fight him off, she said he pushed her on to the bed and raped her.

Keri Claussen Khalighi

Kelly Cutrone 

Jenny Lumet

Jennifer Jarosik

Toni Sallie

Sallie was a young music journalist when she says Simmons raped her in 1988 at his apartment after she was invited to attend a party there for his then-girlfriend  

Keri Claussen Khalighi 

The former model’s claim was the first to become public in November. She says Simmons raped her in his apartment as Brett Ratner watched and that she asked Ratner to help her but he refused. 

Simmons calls her claims ‘the original sin’ because they were the first out of the new wave to emerge. Both he and Ratner deny her version of events 

Christina Moore 

Moore said Simmons led her and a friend to a hotel room in Miami in 2014 where he allegedly pushed her up against a column and ran his hands over her body 

Kelly Cutrone 

The fashion PR maven says Simmons tried to rape her after a party in 1991 but that she escaped him  

Jenny Lumet 

Lumet alleges that she was forced into having sex with Simmons in 1991 after he locked her in his car and took her back to his apartment against her will when the pair, who were acquaintances, ran into each other at a club. 

Lumet said she was powerless to stop him even through a driver was present throughout the journey. 

She says she saw Simmons for years afterwards and was civil towards him

Lisa Kirk 

Kirk claims Simmons pushed her into a bathroom in 1988 and exposed himself to her. 

She says she was able to escape and screamed before running away from him

Jennifer Jarosik

In a lawsuit she filed on January 24, 2018, Jarosik alleges that Simmons raped her during a 2011 interview and later in 2016 invited her to his home where he propositioned her for sex.

When she refused, Simmons allegedly used violence and forced himself on her and raped her.

Jarosik said the incident left her ‘sick, sore, lame, disabled and disordered, both internally and externally and suffered from extreme emotional distress.’

She is seeking in excess of $5million in damages.

Sil Lai Abrams

Erin Beattie 

Massage therapist Erin Beattie alleged that while giving Simmons a massage at a Seattle hotel in 2005, the mogul exposed himself and asked her to touch his penis. 

Sil Lai Abrams 

Journalist Abrams alleges that Simmons raped her in  1994. She also accused Extra host A.J. Calloway of sexual assault. Both angrily denied her allegations. 

Alexia Norton Jones 

Norton Jones alleges that she was raped by the music mogul in his apartment in New York City in 1990 after their first date. 

Alexia Norton Jones

She said it was like being attacked by a ‘flabby walrus’.  

Unnamed woman

The woman claims Simmons raped her in 1991 at his apartment when she was 32  

Unnamed woman 2 

The woman claims Simmons raped her at the Clarion Hotel in Sacramento after a concert