#Repost@unclerush when documentary was announced.. Dearest OPRAH,you have been a shining light to my family and my community. Contributing so much to my life that I couldn’t list a fraction of it in this blog.Ihave given you the gift of meditation and the groundbreaking book”THE POWER OF NOW “we bonded to say the least. This is why it’s so troubling that you choose me to single out in your recent documentry. I have already admitted to being a playboy more (appropriately titled today “womanizer”) sleeping with and putting myself in more compromising situations than almost any man I know. Not 8 or 14 thousand like warren Beatty or Wilt Chamberlain, but still an embarrassing number. So many that some could reinterpret or reimagine a different recollection of the same experiences. Your doc is focused on 3 hand chosen women. I have refused to get in the mud with any accusers, but let’s acknowledge what i have shared. I have taken and passed nine 3-hour lie detector tests (taken for my daughters), that these stories have been passed on by CNN, NBC, BUZZFEED, NY POST, NY MAG, AND OTHERS. 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”. Today I received a call from an old girlfriend from the early 1980s which means that they are using my words/evidence against me and their COMMITMENT/ (all of the claims are 25 to 40 years old) It is impossible to prove what happened 40 years ago, but in my case PROOF EXISTS of what didn’t happen, mostly signed letters from their own parents, siblings, roommates, band members, interns, and in the case of 2 of your 3 accusers,their own words in their books. Shocking how many people have misused this important powerful revolution for relevance and money. ... In closing, I am guilty of exploiting, supporting, and making the soundtrack for a grossly unequal society, i have even been unconsciously callous , but i have never been violent or forced myself on anyone. Still I am here to help support a necessary shift in power and consciousness. Let us get to work on uplifting humanity and put this moment and old narrative behind us Love you
January 11, 2020
On The Record has ended up at HBO. Readers of this publication know that we’ve been following the saga of Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering’s documentary on sexual assault allegations against hop-hop icon Russell Simmons since backer Oprah Winfrey backed away from the project, a move that quashed its Apple+ TV distribution deal.
The noise that Oprah’s departure made might have been the best thing for the film, as not only are we all talking about the doc, but on Monday, HBO announced that the movie would stream on HBO Max, a new streaming service from the cable network that’s slated to launch in May.
The New York Times reports that On The Record will also get a one-week theatrical release to allow it to remain in Oscars contention. neither the date of the brick-and-mortar run nor the HBO streaming date have been determined, but if you want more from the On The Record team, Variety has a 25-minute-long interview with its key players available for viewing here. — EB