Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons accused of rape by four women

Russell Simmons, the powerful hip-hop mogul who founded Def Jam Recordings, has been accused of rape by four women and sexual assault or harassment by five other women in incidents that took place between 1983 and 2016.

The allegations were published Wednesday in separate reports by the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times and come just two weeks after Simmons stepped down from his companies in the wake of two other sexual assault allegations.

“I vehemently deny all these allegations,” Simmons said in a statement to the New York Times. “These horrific accusations have shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual.”

In a statement to the LA Times, Simmons said: “These new stories range from the patently untrue to frivolous and hurtful claims. I want to restate categorically what I have said previously: I have never been violent or abusive to any women in any way at any time in my entire life.”

Simmons is just the latest powerful man in entertainment to be accused of sexual assault or harassment.