Russell Simmons banned from West Village yoga studio amid Rape accusations
By Dana SchusterSeptember 14, 2019 | 3:45pm
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Russell Simmons
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He’s ruining their zen.

Russell Simmons might be trying to make a comeback — after being dragged through the mud in the #MeToo movement amid 12 accusations of rape and sexual misconduct — but a Manhattan yoga studio says he’s nothing but a downward-facing dog.

On Thursday, Modo Yoga NYC emailed Russell Simmons and asked him to steer clear of its West Village fitness studio.

The former music and fashion mogul, who relocated to Bali in February 2018 as allegations of sexual misconduct piled up, had attended classes at Modo while he was in Manhattan the past few weeks.

“The management invited me, and then said that my presence had ‘triggered some members,’ ” Simmons told The Post from Bali.

The owners of Modo Yoga responded: “We do not pass judgment, gossip or comment on any of our students . . . However, when we receive complaints from students who are uncomfortable because of another student’s alleged conduct outside of Modo, we are put in a difficult position.”





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“I’m deeply disappointed and hurt by it,” Simmons said. “Guilty by accusation, I don’t believe is a good way to go forward.”


After avoiding the public eye for over a year, the hip-hop mogul has been hitting the town since August, when he resurfaced in the Hamptons. As Page Six has reported, he’s been spotted at the Capri Hotel in Southampton, partying at former Def Jam partner Lyor Cohen’s home, hobnobbing at nightclub Up and Down, and dining with pals at Blue Fin in Times Square.

Other than the Modo diss, Simmons says he’s been well-received in the Big Apple.

Former Def Jam president Kevin Liles recently had Simmons come to his 300 Entertainment office, where, Liles said, he received a standing ovation after an impromptu speech.

“People were in awe of him,” Liles said.

“My reception has been heartwarming,” Simmons added. “People wanted to throw dinners for me at their houses in the Hamptons . . . I went to a Southampton event and it was all the bankers — you could have blown up all the money in the world at one time — and not one person said anything negative to me.”

Despite an ongoing lawsuit from one woman who claims he raped her in 1988, Simmons is working to build an international school of yogic science, he said, as well as re-enter the fashion arena. Simmons’ lawyer said a court ruling Friday brings the lawsuit closer to dismissal.

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Simmons, pictured here in 2007, is looking to get back into the fashion world.Getty
“I am looking at Phat Farm, to purchase it,” said Simmons of the clothing brand he launched in 1992 and sold with Baby Phat in 2004 for $140 million. He added that he is not involved in Baby Phat, which his ex, Kimora Lee Simmons, recently relaunched.

Although he has no publishing representation at the moment, Simmons is editing his memoir, “Confessions of a Hip Hop Yogi,” which he hopes to first publish in China. He said it will include a chapter called “The Awakening.”

“It’s about my advice for young men and the positivity that has come out of #MeToo and #TimesUp movement,” Simmons said. “If I want to service humanity, I want my book to be helpful.” He added that, “At first, chapter was . . . more defensive.

“I want to build bridges,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of bridges being built. There’s a lot of finger-pointing.”

Asked about the autobiography by The Post, one top US publishing executive said: “Oh, Jesus.”
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