Billionaire media personality, Oprah Winfrey has been dragged into hip-hop icon Russell Simmons’ high-profile r@pe case.According to Page Six, Oprah, 71, has been subpoenaed by Drew Dixon, one of Simmons’ alleged victims, in her ongoing defamation lawsuit against the rapper, 67.Dixon is suing Simmons over remarks he made in a 2023 interview about her r@pe claims and about Winfrey dropping out of executive producing a 2020 documentary on the scandal.Simmons claimed that Winfrey had backed away from the project after discovering ‘inconsistencies’ in Dixon and other alleged victims’ stories and that she had recordings that revealed those ‘inconsistencies.’ Now, attorneys for Dixon have commanded that Winfrey hand over documents, recordings, and other ‘tangible things,’ giving the talk-show icon a March 18 deadline. They also commanded Winfrey to appear for a deposition that ‘may be videotaped’ ‘You are hereby commanded to produce the books, records, papers, data, documents, evidence, writings, and all other tangible things as described more fully in the attached Schedule A at [law firm] Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, 55 Hudson Yards, New York, New York 10001, or electronically to undersigned counsel, on or before March 18, 2025,’ the subpoena begins. ‘You are further commanded to to appear and attend before a notary public or other person authorized by law to administer oaths and at any recessed or adjourned date, to testify and give evidence, as a witness on an examination before trial by deposition upon oral questions.’ The document concludes with: ‘This deposition may be videotaped and will continue from day to day until complete.’ According to Page Six, it remains unclear if Winfrey complied with the demands laid out in the subpoena by the March 18 deadline or if her lawyers worked to fight them. It’s also unclear what assets were called for. Dixon launched her defamation case in 2024 after Simmons spoke on her rape allegations during a sit-down interview with Graham Besinger in 2023. He seemingly suggested that Dixon was ‘[thirsting] for fame’ and seeking ‘notoriety’ by accusing him of raping her back in 1995 at his apartment He also insisted that he’d only ever had ‘consensual’ relationships with women and that he’d ‘never been forceful in any of [his] relationships.’ In this same interview, he said Winfrey’s exit from On The Record, a documentary about Simmons’ alleged crimes and rape accusers, was the result of her finding ‘inconsistencies’ in Dixon and others women’s stories.Simmons also made mention of the ‘tapes’ Winfrey allegedly has of ‘everyone she interviewed’ or spoke to for the documentary. ‘She taped about 20 witnesses. Those tapes are available,’ he told Besinger. He started the conversation by telling Besinger that he ‘didn’t watch [On The Record] because it’s not true and I think that Oprah said the stories don’t add up.’ He said that Winfrey wanted more time to shift her focus on the project and ‘wanted to change the entire thing to a documentary about men in general [and] about the whole music industry. ‘I couldn’t be a subject anymore, because she had found too much contradictory evidence about the stories about me,’ Simmons alleged.Winfrey withdrew herself as executive producer of On The Record in January 2020. While appearing on CBS This Morning to address her departure, Winfrey said that her decision to leave the project was ‘not a victory’ for Simmons in any way.’I unequivocally say that I did not pull out because of Russell,’ she said at the time. ‘This is not a victory lap for him. I cannot be silenced by a Russell Simmons after all I’ve been through.’ The post OprahWinfrey dragged into hip-hop icon Russell Simmons’ high-profile r@pe case appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.
