Russell Simmons initially got famous by starting up Def Jam, a hip hop label that was, believe it or not, dynamic and countercultural. And cool! That was a long, long time ago. What is Russell up to today? Oh, just defending Fox News chief Roger Ailes (again):

And we forget that that [Fox News] may not be good for America, but they are really, really good for TV and that is what the genius and my friend Roger Ailes is selling. TV.

I don't think that Roger wants to do harm to America, I actually believe he wants to make this country a better place. But if that means that Fox News goes out of business, forget about it. I know that Sean Hannity believes in what he is saying. Instead of being the angry left, maybe if we took a moment and listened to them, there could be some common ground, more compromise, more bi-partisan voting.

This is part of a HuffPo essay that sounds like a high school student who's just discovered the concept of moral relativity: "Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck or Bill O'Reilly or Mike Huckabee get on the airwaves and think they are right. And you know what? They are right. Just right to them."

That's great, Russell. Brilliant. All the veganism and Jivamukti and making sure there aren't any "negative" headlines on your website will probably convince Roger Ailes to change his ways by power of example. Just like you "enlightened" Donald Trump. This is all working out well, politically. For everyone who has as much money as Russell Simmons.

[Photo: Getty]