Latest News
Russell Simmons’ Ex-Girlfriend Katie Rost Comes To His Defense Following Misconduct Allegations
Katie Rost, the former Real Housewives of Potomac star, and also a #MeToo survivor, recently came to her ex-boyfriend’s defense amid the cascade of sexual assault and harassment allegations in the advent of the #MeToo movement back in 2017.
Page Six claims Katie spoke with them at length about the allegations against Russell Simmons, the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, who recently slammed Oprah for participating in a documentary about his supposed transgressions toward women.
Rost claimed it was important for her to come out and offer her side of the story because there’s a tendency among human beings to try and “pile on” whenever someone is being accused of something.
As it was previously reported, On The Record, which explores his purported crimes, is supposed to screen at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday. Oprah Winfrey recently backed away from her executive producer position due to the “inconsistencies” in some of the women’s stories, in addition to a difference in creative vision.
Followers of the case know that Mr. Simmons, 62, has vehemently denied all of the allegations. Regarding Rost and her story, she claims she first met with Russell back in 2002 when his former wife hired her to be a model for Baby Phat clothing. She was 22-years-old at the time.
According to Rost, Russell “had a reputation,” and she was warned by other models and executives at her agency, Click Model Management. She claimed Russell was very sweet and nice to her in the beginning stages because he was married at the time.
When Russell and his wife split up in 2009, she and Russell began their romantic relationship, she claims. “It wasn’t exclusive, he had other girlfriends,” the model remarked. They had a working and sexual relationship for six months until she found out he was with other women too.
She described him as a “playboy and a player.” However, they have since remained friends for years. Later, they started to speak with each other more often when she was dealing with a divorce and custody battle four years ago in 2016.
According to Rost, Russell is different from the other men such as Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, and others, who haven’t thought about how their behavior has affected others.
Russell has been eager to learn about how his behavior impacted the people around him. She emphasized the fact that Russell never “crossed a line.”
Furthermore, Rost claimed Russell was never the type of person who used his position or status as a way to threaten, abuse, or control women, at least from what she saw.
Harper Harrison is a reporter for The Hear UP. Harper got an internship at the NPR and worked as a reporter and producer. harper has also worked as a reporter for the Medium. Harper covers health and science for The Hear UP.