There’s trouble in the Simmons family. Russell Simmons, a hip-hop pioneer, has been accused of neglect, emotional and verbal, and financial abuse, and more from his ex-wife – model Kimora Lee – and their now-adult daughters – Ming Lee and Aoki Lee Simmons. The drama started after Ming posted a Happy Father’s Day message to Kimora on her Instagram Stories. Apparently, Russell, who has been living in Bali seemingly to escape accountability for sexual assault allegations, didn’t appreciate the snub and shared his own message in which he blamed Kimora for his daughters’ actions. Kimora and Aoki took to Instagram Live to dish on the mistreatment they say they’ve been under from Russell for years. A tearful Aoiki also shared text messages and video footage of Russell’s tirades.
“My father is not well, for years, he needs help and won’t accept that he refuses to acknowledge he is not himself,” Aoki captioned the clip. “He has threatened and bullied my sister, my grandma, he has harassed my grandma in the middle of the night in poor health, [and sent] a man to my sister’s apartment at 2 a.m. to scare her. He lashes out at ANYONE who does not say, ‘Ooh Russell everything is fine.’ Well it’s not fine.” The video has since been shared and debated across social media platforms.
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In the video, Aoki claimed Russell refers to her and her sister as “f—ing c—s” while saying disparaging things about their mother. She also says he threatened her work, told her that no one would believe her if she ever came forward with information about him, and has cut her and her sister off financially.
Kimora Lee and Russell’s relationship has always been controversial. According to PEOPLE, the pair met in 1992 during New York Fashion Week when Kimora was modeling, 17, and still in high school. Russell was 35. Many have claimed they began dating while Kimora was barely a junior in high school and underage, which Russell has denied.
The couple wed in 1998 before divorcing in 2009 and seemingly remained close co-parents and friends, continuing business ventures together, as well as Russell becoming the godfather to Kimora’s other children. But things have since soured.
Russell sued Kimora Lee Simmons and her current husband, former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner, in 2021, accusing them of fraud. Kimora Lee Simmons countersued, and Russell Simmons was ordered by a judge in 2022 to pay her $100,000 after ruling in her favor.
