Russell Simmons has reignited his long-running battle with HBO, issuing a pointy demand for monetary restitution tied to the community’s 2020 documentary Off the Report. The renewed problem surfaced January 8 in a publish on Threads that paired pointed language with hanging visuals.
Simmons accompanied his message with an AI-generated picture displaying himself surrounded by falling cash, a visible that matched the size of the declare he was making. Within the publish, he accused the community of owing him an infinite sum and framed the demand as vital compensation relatively than a bid for private enrichment.
“HBO you owe me 100s of tens of millions of {dollars},” Simmons wrote. “I want my bread, for all my charities and members of the family, particularly my youngsters.”
He linked the requested payout to broader penalties he says adopted the documentary’s launch, positioning the cash as restitution tied to each private and charitable obligations. The tone of the publish shortly sharpened as Simmons went on to accuse the community of intentional wrongdoing.
“You already know what you probably did was horrific and malicious,” he added, asserting that HBO acted with function relatively than error. The wording advised a dispute rooted not simply in disagreement over content material, however in alleged deliberate hurt.
Simmons additionally challenged the community’s credibility and transparency, urging public scrutiny of how the documentary was produced. “You’ll be able to’t cover,” he wrote, whereas encouraging folks to “ask Oprah or anybody whose ever regarded on the proof.”
The reference to Oprah Winfrey, who withdrew from the venture earlier than it aired, appeared supposed to strengthen Simmons’ argument that key data was omitted. With the publish, Simmons signaled that his dispute with HBO stays unresolved and firmly within the public area.



