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Hip-hop mogul and pioneering co-founder of Def Jam Records Russell Simmons was accused of rape and sexual assault by a number of women within recent weeks, stepping down from leadership positions in his various businesses as a result. However, Simmons has maintained his innocence all along and has now issued a personal statement denying the accusations against him with a strongly worded Instagram post and a hashtag, #NotMe.
While the wisdom of co-opting a social movement’s hashtag is debatable (see: the backlash against #AllLivesMatter or #BlueLivesMatter users), Simmons is unequivocal about trying to shut down his accusers. “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 evidence today… And tomorrow the case of Jenny Lumet. My intention is not to diminish the #MeToo movement in any way, but instead hold my accusers accountable. #NotMe Again, this is not a movement against or even in conjunction with #Metoo. It’s just a statement about my innocence.”
Simmons has given himself a tall task. Proving a negative is pretty much impossible, especially for an incident that allegedly happened so long ago. There’s currently no indication what his “evidence” is, but it appears that he isn’t quite prepared to admit any possible wrongdoing.
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“Proving a negative is pretty much impossible…”
Which is why our system was set up to put the burden of proof on the prosecution, a concept which seems to be lost on people today.
Well considering no one is being prosecuted I’m not sure what point you were trying to prove here
That’s because you’re not very bright.
@Aaron Smarter The point is that ANY claim must be substantiated with facts.
@jimmy astro that looks like a claim to me. Feel free to provide your facts.
@Aaron Smarter You’re a smart guy as I’ve read many of your comments. No need to play dense. You know as well as I do that in any “debate,” evidence is needed to support an argument. In science, for anything to be accepted as a theory (which is accepted as generally true in that community), evidence that has been proven is used to support a claim.
I could continue on but we both know why claims need to be substantiated. Lmao. Some folks just want to debate.
Shucks I came looking for the Omorosa-got-fired retraction.
Gawrsh guys, I guess the Secret Service isn’t a reliable source.
Oh well! As long as we all read the original lie, we’re still newsy!
Can you not achieve an erection without limply criticizing Uproxx news reporting once a day?
Why would April Ryan issue a retraction? She retweeted the Secret Service post so maybe you don’t know what you’re talking about?
This article is all well and good but what I could REALLY go for is another post about Lil Peep.
What are the chances he lacks a penis or is impotent?