Here's Why Music Executive Russell Simmons Is Living in Bali

Fans want to know why music mogul Russell Simmons is living in Bali, Indonesia, after he and his ex-wife, Kimora Lee Simmons, feuded on social media. The Def Jam Records creator has lived in Bali since 2018.

Russell and his ex-wife, Kimora, were married from 1998 until 2009, and they share two daughters, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee. After Kimora told People that her daughters didn't have much of a relationship with Russell, he accused her of stealing his stock from their energy drink company, Celsius, and of threatening to keep his children from speaking to him "ever again." So, why is he living in Bali?

Russell is purportedly living in Bali to escape several sexual assault accusations. According to an interview with AllHipHop, Russell has been living in Indonesia since 2018, but he claimed that the accusations and resulting lawsuits are not the reason he is living in Bali. He addressed the rumors that he couldn't be in the U.S. or he'd be arrested.

“People saying that I, somehow, can’t come home when I’m there all the time, wears on you," he said. "It wears on me after a while to keep hearing the same narrative, which is false. I’m always in LA, I’m always in New York, and Miami. And I’ve never had any reason to feel unsafe in America.”

“I am not physically present in New York, and I do not have an intention to live in New York in the future," he added. "I own no property in the United States."

"I have been living in Bali since 2018, which is where I intend to remain," he continued. "For at least nine years before I moved to Bali, I lived in California. As a California resident, I paid California resident taxes in the years immediately prior to moving to Bali. Currently, I pay California non-resident state taxes."

A 2020 documentary, On the Record, detailed the sexual accusations made against Russell by former record executive Drew Dixon. Drew said that Russell lured her to his apartment in the 1990s, claiming he wanted her to listen to a demo track. The stereo was kept in his bedroom, and Drew said that when she walked into the bedroom and tried to figure out how to work his CD player, Russell appeared naked with a condom on.

"The next thing I know, he is naked, wearing a condom, and he just grabbed me," she said. "And he threw me in the bed. He wrestles me to the bed and pins me down, and I’m fighting, and I’m saying ‘No!’ He’s telling me to ‘stop fighting!’ in a very cold, menacing, detached voice that I’d never, ever heard from him before." Drew also recalled that she blacked out as she was raped.

Several women have accused Russell of sexual misconduct, according to Rolling Stone.

Sherri Abernathy and Sil Lai Abrams claimed that Russell raped them in the 1990s, and settlement agreements were reached, but Russell has yet to pay. According to USA Today, Russell also owes more than $8 million in settlements for several other women who've accused him of assault.

Russell has filed a defamation suit against HBO and the producers of On the Record, Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick, claiming that "credible information, persuasive evidence, and witness statements" supporting the music executive were "disregarded" in the documentary. The lawsuit is ongoing.