Case Summary
- Legacy on Trial: Once HBO’s cultural icon, Russell Simmons now claims the network and filmmakers destroyed his reputation and business empire by ignoring “CIA-grade” polygraph tests and other exculpatory evidence in the explosive documentary, On the Record.
- Battle Over the Truth: Simmons’ $20 million lawsuit argues that HBO and directors Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick “suppressed” key interviews and evidence that could have dramatically altered public perception—and may have violated fundamental principles of documentary fairness.
- Legal Minefield: The case reignites urgent debate over what, if any, legal duty filmmakers owe to the subjects of documentaries—especially when reputations and fortunes are on the line.
By Samuel Lopez – USA Herald
MANHATTAN, N.Y. – Russell Simmons—the pioneering mogul behind Def Jam, Def Comedy Jam, and an entire era of Black American culture—now finds himself not as the architect of media empires, but as a plaintiff in a $20 million legal battle against his former media allies. His adversaries: HBO, its parent Warner Bros. Discovery, and the creators of the acclaimed but controversial documentary On the Record, Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick.
Simmons alleges in his Manhattan Supreme Court complaint that the documentary did more than just tell a story; it allegedly erased his version of events, willfully ignored “CIA-grade” polygraph evidence, and torpedoed his legacy. “I have never had a sexual encounter that was not consensual or lawful,” Simmons insists, maintaining his innocence in the face of more than 20 public accusations.
The lawsuit accuses HBO and the filmmakers of:
