Yahoo News Oprah Winfrey Claims Famous Musician Put ‘Pressure’ On Her To Drop #MeToo Documentary
Oprah Winfrey has opened up about being pressurised to back out of a #MeToo-focussed documentary that investigates sexual misconduct allegations against musician Russell Simmons.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, the 65-year-old claims that Simmons tried to convince her to back out of the film, named On The Record, as an executive producer. Simmons has denied all sexual misconduct allegations against him.
The TV show host ultimately stepped away from the film, citing creative differences between herself and the documentary makers. In her statement - reportedly obtained by PEOPLE - about her decision to walk away, she added that more work needed to be done to ‘illuminate the full scope of what the victims endured’.
‘He did reach out multiple times and attempted to pressure me,’ Winfrey said of Simmons. ‘I told him directly in a phone call that I will not be pressured either into, or out of, backing this film.
‘I am only going to do what I believe to be the right thing.’
A representative of Simmons, Thomasina Perkins-Washington, reportedly issued a statement to PEOPLE that reads: ‘If defending himself against terrible accusations is considered intimidation then there would be no justice. Witnesses and family members were intimidated for expressing their views against these allegations.’
Perkins-Washington added that ‘written accounts and sworn testimony’ depicted the musician as ‘incapable of being violent toward women with whom he had ongoing highly visible romantic relationships from nearly 40 years back’.
In his own statement, Simmons added: ‘I have issued countless detailed denials of the false accusations against me, including pages of sworn witness testimony including family members, clergy, journalists and mutual friends who were present at every stage.’
The Times reports that Winfrey called on director Ava DuVernay – who worked with the star in the 2018 film A Wrinkle In Time – who also found issues with the documentary.
The 47-year-old filmmaker reportedly told the news outlet that Winfrey was going to receive criticism no matter her decision on the documentary.
‘She’s got Simmons on one side pressuring her, and then she’s got a film on the other side that she doesn’t agree with,’ DuVernay told the publication. ‘So if she walks away from the film she seems like she’s caving to Simmons, and if she stays with the film then she’s putting her name on something that she feels doesn’t quite hit the mark.’
Winfrey previously served as an executive producer on the documentary, which was intended to air on Apple TV+ following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival later this week.
The film follows former music executive Drew Dixon, who previously accused Simmons of ‘aggressive sexual harassment’ in 2017 during an interview with the Times.
In December, Simmons shared a post on Instagram criticising Winfrey’s involvement in the documentary.
A post shared by Russell Simmons (@unclerush) on Dec 13, 2019 at 6:35am PST
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