Russell Simmons Vegan, Early Life, Activist, Sexual assault allegations

American entrepreneur, Russell Simmons was born on October 4, 1957. He is the co-founder of hip-hop label Def Jam. In 1985, he co- produced and appeared in Krush Groove. Simmons also co-produced the hit film The Nutty Professor in 1996. He has been a vegan since 1999. Russell Simmons Vegan cites animal rights along with environmental and health benefits supporting Ahimsa(do no harm)and veganism. Russell Simmons Vegan is supporter of Farm Sanctuary, an organization working to end cruelty to farm animals. He currently had a development deal with HBO.He is social activist ,has written number of books and has been honored for his work. Currently, he’s been in news through sexual assault allegations.

Early Life

Simmons was the second of three sons. He was  brought up by his parents, father Daniel Sr; a teacher, and mother Evelyn; an administrator who raised their family in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New York. They were hardworking and inspirational, but the wider community in Queens was “destroyed by drugs”.

In 1975, Simmon attended the City College of New York in Harlem after graduating from August Martin High School, where he met a young DJ/ Bboy who influenced him to participate in the hip-hop phenomenon.

Hearing Cheeba perform at Charles Gallery in Harlem in 1977 made his feel like he has witnessed the invention of the wheel.

Career

Russell Simmons co-founded Def Jam in 1983. In 1996, Rick Rubin sold his share of the company for $120 million to Universal Music Group. In the year 1985 Simmons co- produced and appeared in Krush Groove.

Simmons, along with his partner Stan Lathan, produced television hits HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, Def Poetry Jam and currently had a development deal with HBO. In 1996, Simmons co-produced the hit film The Nutty Professor, starring Eddie Murphy. In 2003, Simmons co-founded RushCard, a prepaid debit card provider.

Simmons’ company Rush Communications Inc. has over 10 businesses and 3 non-profit companies.

There is no doubt that Russel Simmons net worth is around $340 million. He is one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in hip-hop having ventures in clothing companies, producer credits, and various other enterprises.

Personal Life

Simmons and model Kimora Lee met in November 1992. They married on December 20, 1998 on the island of Saint Barthelemy. At the time when Russell Simmons met Kimora, she was 17 and Russell Simmons was 35.

While he didn’t hide the fact that he was a ladies’ man, he was smitten by Kimora Lee Simmons and began a serious relationship with her soon after. In December 1998, Kimora Lee Simmons became Russell Simmons’ wife and the pair were married by his brother Joey “Reverend Run” Simmons.

Together Kimora Lee Simmons and Russell Simmons built multi-million dollar businesses together and raised two daughters, Ming Lee Simmons and Aoki Lee Simmons.

Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee Simmons, They are both philanthropic. Together they have supported numerous causes such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and their combined organization named the Rush Philanthropic where
In March 2006, Simmons confirmed his divorce from Lee.

Read more about Kimora Lee

Activist Russell Simmons

In 2002, Simmons became chairman of board of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. In May 2009, he was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Slavery Memorial at the United Nations. It was to honor the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

In a similar way, Simmons is a great supporter of the Somaly Mam Foundation, and was honored at their 2011 gala dinner. Simmons endorsed the second Muslim Jewish Conference 2011 officially.

Together with Rabbi Marc Schneier, he served as the official patron of the conference held July 2011 in Kiev, Ukraine. In 2011, he took part in the Occupy Wall Street protests, visiting the protesters at Zuccotti Park often and for many consecutive days.

Simmons is also a strong longtime supporter for gay rights. He encourages marriage equality.

In 2011, Simmons promised to pay the Learning Channel for any revenue lost when the retail corporation Lowe’s withdrew funding from the show All-American Muslim.

In 2012, Simmons supported Ohio, A congressman Dennis Kucinich’s appearing with the politician at various speaking events at re-election campaign.

In November 2013, he pledged support for New York’s mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio in recognition of his support for animal rights.

In 2015, Simmons criticized his friend, a real-estate developer and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in an open letter after Trump called for Muslim immigrants to be barred from entering the United States.

In 2017, Simmons was listed at number 23 as in the list of 200 Most Influential Social-Entrepreneurs and Philanthropists Worldwide by UK-based company, Richtopia.

Drug Story

Simmons told The Guardian in 2013. “Everybody shot dope… I used every drug there is… but it didn’t make me a bad person: it made me a sad person, a diseased person.” Simmons did sold drugs for a time and ran with the Seven Immortals; a street gang.

In 2009, Simmons organized a protest demanding for the change of the harsh sentencing of the Rockefeller Drug Laws in front of city hall calling thousands of protesters and hip-hop celebrities.

Russell Simmons vegan

There wasn’t a drug Russell didn’t get high off of, from weed to coke to angel dust. Just as there wasn’t a kind of meat or dairy he didn’t consume either. Products that were, in many ways, just as bad for him as drug. He finally took a great leap forward on New Year’s Day 1997.

For months, [legendary photographer and vegan] Glen Friedman had been bugging him to watch a film called Diet for a New America. Once he watched it, he promised, he’d stop eating animal products and never look back.

In his heart, he knew he was probably right, just as in his heart he knew the yoga community was right too. He was primed to make a change. Yet for some reason he’d been resisting watching the tape.

He was also shocked to learn about the status to which the meat and dairy industries were responsible for polluting our nation’s waterways and contributing to global warming. The scenes showing horrible conditions animals are raised in and the barbaric ways they’re slaughtered for their meat were equally powerful. After that he looked at his food choices in a whole new way.

He didn’t want to be involved in the torture and slaughter of animals anymore.

He didn’t want to contribute to the destruction of the environment.

Yes, He did want his life to be a statement of compassion. This would be impossible as long as he was complicit in the torture and murder of billions of animals.

Simmons has been a vegan since 1999.

Giving up drugs and taking up yoga and meditation had been a major transformation for him. Changing what he ate on top of all that seemed like just a little too much to think about.

Being known as Russell Simmons vegan and becoming a vegan made his life much happier and healthier. As he spent much of the half of his life abusing with toxins, it helped him disconnect from his lifestyle that has put too many other middle-aged African American males in ground. He feels so content and centered, full of energy and appetite for all that the life has to offer. He feels like he is in a wonderful space being Russell Simmons vegan.

 Beliefs

Simmons describes himself as a Christian yogi but he has shown love and respect for all religions. Simmons practices a method of  Jivamukti Yoga, which encourages vegetarianism and social and environmental activism.

Russell Simmons Vegan has also been a true devotee to Transcendental Meditation (TM) ^; And is a supporter of the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace, which was established to ensure that any child in America who wants to learn and practice TM can do so.

Sexual assault allegations

In November 2017, when Simmons was 17 and Keri Claussen Khalighi 33, he was accused for sexually assaulting her. Simmons and Brett Ratner, both were accused by Khalighi for watching them when she asked for his help. They both deny that the encounter was non-consensual.

Terry Crews accused Simmons of attempting to influence him to take back sexual assault allegations as the case was covered in the press. Crews had recently brought up against film executive Adam Venit, asking that Crews “give him a pass … ask that he be reinstated.” Crews posted a screenshot of the filed e-mail he had received from the twitter account of Simmons.

On November 30, 2017, writer Jenny Lumet claimed that in 1991, Simmons had assaulted her. In response, Simmons cleared that he would step down from his positions with his businesses. After HBO announced on the same day that they are removing Simmons’s name and his likeness from his stand-up comedy specials starting with the December 1 episode.

 Books

Simmons has written several books which reflect his own experiences in the entertainment business and his own personal beliefs and of course Russell Simmons vegan journey.

• In 2002, he published Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money, +God
• In 2005, Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway and More
• In 2008, Do You! 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success
  
• In 2011, Super Rich: Inside and Out
• In 2014, Success Through Stillness
• In 2015, The Happy Vegan( 2015)

Honors

In 2014, Russell Simmons vegan was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane Letters by Claremont Lincoln University for his work as chairman of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and fro promoting mindfulness, compassion and inter-religious collaboration in public sphere.

Wake up to struggle ❤️ The yogi learns to smile and breathe in every pose. The long weekend in question 26 years ago had many witnesses, the L.A. Times never used some of the their signed written statements that she spent the night, had lunch with, and went to clubs with multiple witnesses and even stayed in my apartment when I wasn’t there, all after alleged incident. I provided 3 witness statements, maybe they could have been used in the article?

A post shared by Russell Simmons (@unclerush) on Nov 19, 2017 at 6:56am PST