Russell Simmons removes Harriet Tubman "sex tape"

Russell Simmons is apologizing for a parody video of Harriet Tubman in a "sex tape" that appeared on his All Def Digital YouTube channel.

The clip features an actress portraying Tubman having sex with her white slave master as someone films it so the abolitionist can bribe her boss. The "Harriet Tubman Sex Tape" video was posted Wednesday.

The 55-year-old Simmons, founder of Def Jam Records, writes Thursday that he "can now understand why so many people are upset." He said he removed the video after a call from the NAACP.

"In the whole history of Def Comedy Jam, I've never taken down a controversial comedian," Simmons wrote. "When my buddies from the NAACP called and asked me to take down the Harriet Tubman video from the All Def Digital YouTube channel and apologize, I agreed."

He continued: "I'm a very liberal person with thick skin. My first impression of the Harriet Tubman piece was that it was about what one of the actors said in the video, that 162 years later, there's still tremendous injustice. And with Harriet Tubman outwitting the slave master? I thought it was politically correct. Silly me."

Simmons adds that he doesn't condone violence against women and that he's "sincerely sorry" to those offended by the clip. Though Simmons removed the video, it still lives online.