Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand gives donations from Russell Simmons to charity after sexual assault allegations

AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Kirsten Gillibrand

• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand gave campaign donations from Russell Simmons to charity on Thursday after details emerged of new sexual assault allegations.
• Simmons stepped down from his companies and will no longer be involved with HBO.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, gave campaign donations from hip hop mogul Russell Simmons to charity on Thursday, an aide to her Senate campaign confirmed to Business Insider.

The $2,000 in campaign donations received from Simmons were redirected to Protect Our Defenders, a nonprofit organization that provides free legal and other assistance to military sexual assault survivors.

Simmons has been accused of sexual assault by model Kerri Claussen Khalighi as well as screenwriter Jenny Lumet.

The Hollywood Reporter published a letter from Lumet to Simmons detailing the allegations of sexual assault.

"I felt dread and disorientation. I wanted to go home. I said I wanted to go home," Lumet wrote in the letter of the 1991 incident. "I didn't recognize the man next to me. I didn't know if the situation would turn violent. I remember thinking that I must be crazy; I remember hoping that the Russell I knew would return any moment."

The embattled Simmons has since stepped down from his companies over the accusations. In addition, HBO severed ties with Simmons and announced they will remove his name from an upcoming comedy project, "All Def Comedy."