According to the press release, the film is an “examination of race, gender, class, and intersectionality, and the toll assaults take on their victims and society at large”.
What We Know:
- In 2017, several women accused the Def Jam Recordings co-founder of sexual assault which spanned for decades. Russell Simmons denied those claims and said in a statement to the Los Angeles times that those allegations were “untrue to frivolous and hurtful”.
- After the news of the documentary, rapper 50 Cent questioned Winfrey’s intentions on social media. “I don’t understand why Oprah is going after black men,” 50 Cent wrote alongside a photo of both Winfrey and Simmons. He also mentioned how accusers like Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein were let off the hook but black men like Simmons and Micheal Jackson are the number one target. “No Harvey Weinstein, no Epstein, just Michael Jackson and Russell Simmons, this s*** is sad.” He added, “These documentaries are publicly convicting their targets, it makes them guilty till proven innocent”.
- Earlier this year, Winfrey interviewed Wade Robson and James Safechuck after the HBO broadcast of Leaving Neverland, in which both Robson and Safechuck disclosed information of the alleged abuse they faced at the hands of Jackson when they were children.
- Angela Simmons, Simmons’s niece opened up about the documentary in an interview with Bossip. Although she didn’t take a stance on Winfrey’s involvement, she made it clear whose side she was on. “I’m not ever gonna get in between what’s going on with people. I’m going to stand by my family,” the Growing Up Hip Hop star said. “I’m not going to get in between all of that, it’s not my place. No one wants to see their family getting hurt. He has daughters. My uncle knows what he’s done…” she added. “But I don’t necessarily want to shine a light on that.”
50 Cent and Winfrey have had a long-standing feud after she criticized his lyrics.
