Kimora Lee Simmons is keeping her chin up despite her family’s drama playing out for all to see. She has two daughters, Aoki, 21, and Ming, 23, with her ex-husband, Russell Simmons.
However, the former model recently shed tears during a livestream with fans as she addressed her and her daughters’ strained relationship with the media mogul.
But Kimora has since bounced back from after the vulnerable moment. “I’m OK. I’m always OK,” the “Life in the Fab Lane” star told The YBF while attending Essence Fest in New Orleans over the Fourth of July weekend.
“I’m a tough chick, I’m a single mom of five kids, that’s why I’m here because so many women are here. So much Black girl joy, brown girl joy. All the shades of joy. So it just feels good for me to be in a room like this,” she noted.
The former couple, who were married from 1998 to 2009, made headlines on Father’s Day when their daughter Ming gave her mother a shoutout instead of her dad. The lack of acknowledgment struck a nerve with the music executive, who hit back with a cryptic post blaming mothers for creating challenging parenting dynamics.
The Baby Phat founder responded with a series of posts shared in her Instagram Story alleging “this man has been threatening my kids lives,” among other claims of harassment, gaslighting, and emotional and mental abuse.
She further unleashed her qualms about Russell being a menacing figure in her and their daughter’s lives in an Instagram Live rant.
Aoki also tearfully spoke about her challenges with her father online. The Harvard Law graduate attributed her struggles with anxiety to Russell’s alleged volatile and erratic behavior.
In one post, she wrote, “Until a short time ago, this is the man who told me ‘always defend and look after your mother girls’ and ‘never let a man curse at you’ [and] ‘you call Daddy if a man ever tried to yell you or scare you that’s never ok!’ Real men don’t shout at women and girls.”
In recent years, the Def Jam Records co-founder has faced a slew of damning allegations from at least three women who accused him of sexual assault and others claiming to be victims of sexual misconduct and harassment.
“My dad is fine … He literally just sends yoga posts…he’s the least concerned,” said Aoki in another livestream where she addressed her family’s public meltdowns. “My mom’s dong good…she’s hanging in there. My mom is very strong and I wish sometimes that she didn’t have to be.”
In the comments, one person wrote, “Your father paid 18 years of child support. A huge amount per month for 2 kids. Financially he doesn’t owe y’all a dime.” In her rant, Kimora claimed that Russell quit providing for their daughters and that he is flat out broke.
A second individual commented, “I image it most be devastating to work hard and take chances to wake up and it’s all gone. Someone you trusted cleaned you out for her married con man. Then on top of you children not thinking it’s a big deal they call you for money.”
Kimora is also the mother of two sons: Kenzo whom she shares with ex Djimon Honsou and Wolfe whom she shares with ex-husband Tim Leissner. She also adopted her son Gary to help a friend of the family.
