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The entertainment entrepreneur and co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, Russell Simmons, has been accused by his daughter Aoki Lee of bullying and verbally abusing her, her sister Ming Lee, and their mother, Kimora Lee Simmons.
Aoki, who recently graduated from Harvard, tearfully vented on social media about the abuse she's been receiving from Russell. She claims, "he's completely changed, and it's been terrifying." Aoki also explained, "When he had business ventures, my mom would invest in them-like good friends, he'd come stay with us like we'd come stay there like all the time, everyone together, and then really he suddenly just decided that like if we don't agree it's oh you're all (expletives) like your mother I hate you all these (expletives) are the same. Oh my, I mean, he's just a different person."
Russell met his ex-wife, Kimora Lee Simmons, while she was a teenage international model for several high-end fashion lines, such as Chanel, Fendi, Valentino, and Yves Saint Laurent, and the two eventually had children, married, and divorced. Yet, in recent years, Russell and Kimora have reportedly had bad blood and legal issues. In 2021, PEOPLE magazine covered an ongoing lawsuit between the two and Kimora’s then husband, Tim Leissner, "After Simmons, 63, alleged in a complaint that Kimora, 46, and Leissner, 49, fraudulently transferred 4 million shares of energy drink company Celsius to pay for Leissner's legal fees related to a money laundering case, Kimora is responding to Simmons' claims." "Kimora's legal team tells PEOPLE in a statement. "This is an ill-advised attempt by Russell to use the legal system to access funds he is in no way entitled to, and which his own legal team confirms Russell did not pay for." "Russell's continued aggressive behavior not only blatantly distorts the facts, but is simply a desperate PR ploy ignoring the years of mental and emotional anguish, gaslighting, and ongoing harassment he has inflicted on Kimora."
Kimora also broke her silence and spoke about the situation, backing her daughter Aoki’s allegations about her father in a now-deleted live video. The former fashion model said Simmons has not attended several of their children's graduations, he threatens their kids, and is dishonest about many things. Simmons contends that she has financially supported the former husband long after their marriage that ended in 2009; "I have been financially carrying this person probably for the last at least ten years, myself and my ex-husband...But I've taken care of this person to the tune of many, many, many millions of dollars to help with their bills, their overhead, their companies that they run into the ground, their unsuccessful bids, all of their stuff"...
The former creator of Baby Phat expressed that she feels the current troubled waters have a lot to do with the recent lawsuit between her and Russell, "So you'll notice that all of this down talking and all of this stuff started to take a turn around these past couple of years, I think coinciding with that lawsuit. I never get into this; I usually let people go and rant and rave...It's funny how this particular person…Again, if you go look back, you'll see on their page that they post all these pictures like we're together, like we're friends, they've even posted pictures and then said like, I just got off the phone with my kids, they sent me this great picture, none of that's true....I think the bottom line, like probably the breaking point for all of this, was over the past many months, um, when their dad just sort of cut them off. He was contributing a little bit of cash to their monthly college spending, not much, a couple hundred dollars probably, maybe 500 dollars, maybe a little more. Again, all these things can be proven with receipts...And so one day, he just kind of cut the kids off, there was no more money coming in, no more allowance...But when he did this, it was around just before finals and graduation. And he did it without telling the kids or talking to the kids."
In response to all of the accusations, Russell made the following statement when posting a photo of his daughters on social media: "God is testing you a little bit, it’s ok, be strong. . . they are called growing pains . . . as you know, we grow through adversity and struggle . . . you read my books and heard me preach your whole childhood . . . reach back to old lessons and remember to remember "smile and breathe" ❤️ “smile and breathe" . . . you are the watchers of this world . . . so let go . . . be at ease . . . God is driving and he is working on you ❤️DEEPLY sorry for being frustrated and yelling . . .but know this . . . there are no conditions . . . for sure i love you guys more than i love myself"
Russell and Kimora's family was once admired for co-parenting and having a beautifully blended family, especially when the former runway model remarried and had more children. We hope this too will pass for the family.
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