Usher has been a busy man to start the year. From performing at the Super Bowl halftime show to receiving numerous awards in Atlanta days later, the R&B artist doesn’t seem to have a stopping point.
Usher was recently in Bali, and during his trip, he met up with Russell Simmons. In an Instagram post, Simmons went in depth about their friendship and how Usher has been there for him during trying times.
Russell Simmons dedicates several posts to Usher visiting him in Bali.
"When I was at the lowest point in my life i woke up and this man was sitting by my bed…a friend walks in when others walk out." pic.twitter.com/u7v0Gdx6aJ
— Complex (@Complex) March 4, 2024
“When I was at the lowest point in my life I woke up and this man was sitting by my bed … I had known Usher since he was a kid, but we really bonded because of our mutual love for self-discovery and our belief in yogic science as a direct route to realizing Gods consciousness in ourselves,” the caption said.
The video shows Usher in multiple pictures with Simmons accompanied by Beyoncé’s song, “Love On Top.” Though it may seem like a loving moment between two friends, social media was not too kind to Usher visiting Simmons after the alleged sexual assault charges filed against him.
So disappointed in Usher ☹️
— Jasmyn (@JasmynBeKnowing) March 4, 2024
On Feb. 13, a former Def Jam Recordings executive using the pseudonym Jane Doe filed a lawsuit for sexual assault against Simmons in New York. The lawsuit alleges several infractions including battery, emotional distress, false imprisonment and a violation of New York’s gender-based violence law.
“Ms. Doe repeatedly told Mr. Simmons to get off of her, but he refused,” the court documents said. “Mr. Simmons proceeded to rape her.”
In December 2o23 during an appearance on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger,” Simmons discussed the sexual assault accusations and detailed how many lie detector tests he took for each claim made about him. Since 2017, 18 women have made sexual harassment or rape allegations against Simmons.
“I took nine lie-detector tests — people don’t know that,” Simmons said. “Nine separate, seven from the chairman of the Polygraph Association. One for each serious accusation.
“Some people say that they’re not accurate, but it’s 94 percent accurate. I did nine of them; it’s pretty clear that I don’t believe it. I even asked, ‘Well, what if I believe it, but it’s not true?’ He said, ‘Your subconscious will get you.’ I don’t know how true that is, but that’s what was told to me by the chairman of the Polygraph Association,” the rap mogul stated.
