Oprah Winfrey had a change of heart. Just one month after announcing her involvement in a documentary on one of Russell Simmons’ sexual assault accusers, the TV mogul hoped off the production team and pulled the film from the Apple TV+ lineup.
“I have decided that I will no longer be executive producer on The Untitled Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Documentary and it will not air on Apple TV+,” Winfrey said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday (Jan. 10). “First and foremost, I want it to be known that I unequivocally believe and support the women. Their stories deserve to be told and heard. In my opinion, there is more work to be done on the film to illuminate the full scope of what the victims endured and it has become clear that the filmmakers and I are not aligned in that creative vision.”
The 65-year-old former talk show host added that Dick and Ziering are “talented filmmakers,” and that she respects their mission. “But given the filmmakers’ desire to premiere the film at the Sundance Film Festival before I believe it is complete, I feel it’s best to step aside. I will be working with Time’s Up to support the victims and those impacted by abuse and sexual harassment.”
Winfrey’s announcement comes weeks after 50 Cent claimed she disproportionately targeted black men accused of sexual misconduct and assault.
Simmons penned an open letter to Winfrey writing in part, “We bonded to say the least. This is why it’s so troubling that you choose me to single out in your recent [documentary].”
The Def Jam Records founder says that he passed numerous lie detector tests to prove his innocence. “Now that you have reviewed the facts and you SHOULD have learned what I know; that these stories are UNUSABLE and that ‘hurt people hurt people,’” he wrote to Winfrey.
The documentary follows music exec Drew Dixon, a onetime Def Jam exec, who worked with The Notorious B.I.G., Lauryn Hill, Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, 2Pac, Carlos Santana and Pharrell Williams, among others. She is one of three women who came out with rape and sexual harassment accusations against Simmons in 2017.
Simmons has repeatedly denied all allegations of sexual assault. Read his full letter to Winfrey below.
