Jay-Z is facing criticism after his streaming service Tidal featured Russell Simmons, who has been accused of rape by multiple women, on one of the entertainment company's podcasts.

According to The Daily Beast, Simmons was among the guests recently invited to Tidal's Drink Champs podcast. The discussion, which centered on the Black Lives Matter movement, also included rappers Talib Kweli, Mysonne and Bun B, as well as activist Marc Lamont Hill. 

Drink Champs is produced by Tidal in collaboration with Revolt TV, which is owned by Diddy, per PR Newswire. Tidal first promoted the episode on social media before deleting the post.

According to HuffPost, activist and writer Sil Lai Abrams is one of the women who has brought allegations against Simmons. She was the most vocal critic on Tuesday after Tidal announced the featured guests on its recent podcast.

"What in the entire hell are Jay Z and @TIDAL doing by giving Russell Simmons a platform to discuss #BlackLivesMatter?" Abrams wrote on Twitter. "Why do people continue to give him a pass? @marclamonthill did you ask him about the multiple rape allegations against him???" 

Abrams continued to express her frustration in a series of tweets. 

"There is *absolutely* an underground movement by powerful Black men in music to help Russell avoid accountability and whitewash his legacy," the author tweeted. 

The backlash came just weeks after Simmons appeared on The Breakfast Club, which is aired on the Revolt TV network, per Billboard. Abrams also called out Diddy for giving a voice to the disgraced Def Jam Records co-founder.

"The Breakfast Club airs on Puffy’s Revolt network. Tidal is owned by Jay Z," she wrote. "Both platforms have had Russell Simmons on talking about social justice issues despite the allegations of sexual violence and harassment he has engaged in for decades. All three men are Black music moguls."

Abrams appeared on the June 17 episode of the radio show where she addressed the hosts having Simmons on the show, saying he went "unchallenged" throughout the interview. She referred to Simmons as the "Harvey Weinstein of the hip-hop community." 

Hill also took to Twitter to give his account of what happened on the podcast.

"A few weeks ago, I appeared on Drink Champs. I was asked to join a discussion with Bun B, Talib Kweli, and Mysonne," the BET News host wrote. "About 2.5 hours into the show, Russell Simmons appeared. I had NO IDEA he was scheduled. I would NEVER have appeared if I had known."

Hill said he asked the producers to wrap up the show upon learning he was sharing a speaking spot with Simmons. 

"During Russell’s 20ish minutes on the show, I was texting the producers telling them that I was not comfortable with his press and asking to wrap," he wrote. "After the show, I expressed my frustration with what happened. I also asked them not to air Russell’s portions."

Although he assumed that Simmons' part of the podcast wouldn't be aired, Hill said he was surprised when the show came out.

"When the show was aired, Russell was not on it. I assumed that my request was honored," he said. "Today, I see a Part 2 was posted with his commentary included. I am beyond disappointed that this is the case." 

The BET host apologized for sharing a platform with Simmons.

"I stand with, and fully believe, the women who have come forward about Russell’s sexual violence," he wrote. "I am sorry that I shared space with someone who has caused such harm without accountability. Although I had NO IDEA he’d be on, I am nonetheless deeply sorry that I was a part of it."

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Abrams said "the movement for Black lives really should be interpreted as the movement for cisgender, heterosexual Black men’s lives."

"What we see with these media moguls is a replication of the oppression that they experience as Black men, but they’re doing it to Black women," Abrams told The Daily Beast. "They’re using intimidation tactics by giving a serial predator like Russell Simmons a place online to terrorize his survivors.”

Telling her story in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, Abrams said Simmons raped her after a night out in New York City in 1994. The author said Simmons took her to his house after the two of them had partied together and that he forced himself on her although she repeatedly said no. 

“I needed to tell my story, to say his name out loud, to let people know what he had done to me,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. 

Abrams is one of 13 women who has brought sexual abuse allegations against Simmons, The Daily Beast reported. She was also one of the women who was featured on HBO's documentary, On The Record, which highlights the allegations against Simmons. Abrams joined two other women, Drew Dixon and Sheri Sher, on the documentary. 

According to The Daily Beast, the documentary almost didn't happen because Simmons and 50 Cent pressured executive producer Oprah Winfrey to back out. But the production was then acquired by HBO. 

“I have had a difficult time when it comes to the press of getting my story out, so this repeated trauma of the attempted silencing of my voice, it was another layer of trauma on top of the last two-plus years where I have been dealing with the fallout of my decision to come forward, and to share my story," Abrams said. 

JAY-ZRussell-SimmonsSil Lai AbramsTIDAL