Oprah Winfrey’s abrupt exit from a documentary examining sex abuse claims against Russell Simmons cast a cloud over the project just weeks before its Sundance premiere in 2020. At the time, Winfrey pointed to concerns about inconsistencies and said more work needed to be done, as reported by Page Six.

New court papers, however, suggest her decision to leave “On The Record” may have been influenced not by factual flaws in the documentary, but by claims about the motives and personal history of Drew Dixon, one of the Def Jam mogul’s accusers.

In January 2020, Winfrey suddenly informed the filmmakers that they needed to withdraw the Apple documentary from the famed Utah film festival. If they refused, she said she would remove her name from the project as its executive producer.

Winfrey publicly maintained her support for the women featured in the documentary. In a statement, she said she “unequivocally believes and supports the women,” adding that their stories “deserve to be told and heard.”

Still, the daytime television legend made clear that she was not satisfied with the documentary in its existing form. Her explanation focused on the scope of the film and a creative disagreement with its filmmakers.

She said, “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.”

Winfrey later sharpened the focus of her concerns during an appearance on “CBS This Morning.” She said, “I just care about getting it right, and I think there are some inconsistencies in the stories that we need to look at.”

A filing made Friday now offers a different glimpse into the doubts surrounding Winfrey’s departure. Attorneys for Dixon submitted the papers in a court case that Simmons launched against Warner Brothers Discovery, which aired the documentary on HBO.

Dixon, a former Def Jam executive, accused Simmons in 2017 of raping her in 1995. Simmons has strenuously denied that allegation, and Dixon has since sued him for defamation after he claimed during an interview that she was lying about the alleged rape.

The filing included an exhibit containing a letter from the documentary’s filmmakers to Winfrey. In that letter, the filmmakers appeared to address concerns about Dixon that an unnamed “friend” had raised with Winfrey.

The response suggests Winfrey had told the filmmakers that her concerns came from the friend’s claims about Dixon. According to the letter, the friend claimed Dixon had been romantically involved with Simmons at the time of the alleged attack, an assertion Dixon has denied.

The unnamed friend also allegedly claimed that Dixon was seeking fame and money by making the rape allegation. The filmmakers disputed those claims individually and challenged the idea that they undermined Dixon’s accusation.

Their letter concluded with a pointed question: “How does any of the above lead one to conclude Drew wasn’t raped? Fame-seekers, as well as prostitutes and gold diggers, can be raped. And persons in consensual relationships can be raped.”

The exhibit suggests the filmmakers were attempting to reassure Winfrey that the concerns reportedly shared by her friend did not disprove Dixon’s account. It also casts new light on the questions that preceded Winfrey’s dramatic withdrawal from the documentary.

Simmons has been accused of rape, attempted rape and other sexual misconduct by a total of 12 women. He resigned from Def Jam in 2017, has not been charged with any crimes and has denied wrongdoing.

The film ultimately aired on HBO despite Winfrey’s departure and her warning that her name would come off the project if it remained scheduled for Sundance. The court papers do not change her public statements, but they reveal additional concerns that were apparently discussed privately.

Dixon is also pursuing separate legal action against music mogul L.A. Reid for alleged sexual assault. Her cases against Reid and Simmons remain distinct from the court dispute in which her attorneys submitted the filmmakers’ letter to Winfrey.

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