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Now wait, before you start rolling your eyes and laughing your
head off, just read the rest of it. And then you’ll probably still be rolling your eyes and laughing
your head off anyway.

It’s no secret that hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons is still trying to climb out of that hole he dug himself into, after that Harriet Tubman sex tape spoof on his newly established comedy channel All Def Digital.

He’s apologized and even recorded a video apology (HERE) in
which he revealed that he still didn’t quite get the outrage.

So now he’s reached out to the actual living descendants of
Harriet Tubman to make amends. It wasn’t unexpected.

Rita
Daniels, who is the great great grand niece of Tubman, publicly
called out Simmons for his “crude” and “insensitive portrayal” of
her great great aunt Tubman.

She further said in an interview with The Grio that: “When
I looked at (the video) tears streamed down my eyes. This is a woman who helped
people. She was not about this.”

She went on to say that the video was
“awful” and a “nasty portrayal” of Tubman as a “whoremonger,”
that has “tainted her reputation.” And it was an  “abomination
to my great-great-aunt Harriet’s legacy and does not depict her accurately.”

She added that the video couldn’t have come at a worse time
considering that, this year, 2013, marks the 100th anniversary of Tubman’s
death.

Well, Simmons, taking the hint, did reach out to Daniels, and now he claims that they have a deal to develop a film project on Tubman.

Russell tweeted on Saturday: “They (Rita
and Geraldine Daniels) have not only accepted my apology but we agree that we
should begin immediately to develop the story of Harriet Tubman… God
works in mysterious ways. Thank you Rita and Geraldine Daniels. You and your
great great grandmother are amazing inspirations.”

I know what you’re thinking – Yeah right.

Rita Daniels, in response to her meeting with Simmons and
his announcement of the film project, tweeted herself that: “We thank you for accepting responsibility for
the video…… We’re moving towards the right direction #newfriend.”

Assuming it’s really her. Look at it this way, if someone made an
offensive video about a relative of yours, who was a living monument and a
genuine hero, would you give in so quickly?

Do you believe that this is all just a scam from Simmons
to get the heat off him, and that he has no intentions of ever making a film
about Tubman; or do you think he’s seen the light and is genuinely sincere?

By the way, he also added that he was developing a Frederick Douglass miniseries. 

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