Aoki Lee Simmons appears to have backpedaled over statements she made about her relationship status days into ensuing outrage over her being photographed with a significantly older man.
The 21-year-old Harvard graduate has been the topic of debate since April 2, when photos of her canoodling with restaurateur Vittorio Assaf were publicized online. The Serafina Restaurant Group founder, 65, is 44 years her senior.
They were spotted on the beach in Saint Barthélemy. Aoki was wearing a two-piece bathing suit, and Assaf was wearing swim trunks.
In one of the images, she was shown in a kneeling position as she posed for the businessman who snapped flicks with a cellphone. In another photo, they shared a kiss on the lips.
However, on April 9, a clip from a recent livestream began to circulate, where Aoki appeared to be in a cab as she fielded questions from her followers. At one point, someone seemed to have asked about her love life because she responded, “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
When another user suggested she check out Page Six, she said, “I don’t read tabloids in general,” before she spiraled into a tangent about her struggles with anxiety and disdain for taking phone calls.
Aoki disclosed that she is triggered into thinking that something bad has happened whenever her phone rings — something her followers caught a glimpse of as she avoided taking calls during the live chat.
One reaction to the video read, “I already saw him getting tired of her. She definitely said boyfriend 1 million times this week referring to him.”
During a previous live session, Lee spoke about her “boyfriend” checking them in early at a hotel. She also mentioned, “I’m making my final St. Barths video,” while riding in the back of an SUV.
I hope Aoki Lee Simmons is okay. This feels… yeah. pic.twitter.com/LPNYxWse3D
— Sassington, M.C. (@MissSassbox) April 6, 2024
A man, believed to be Assaf, can be overheard saying “aww” as well as sharing that she was his favorite part of the trip. The younger of the two children of Russell Simmons, 66, and Kimora Lee Simmons, 48, also referred to him as “baby” as she spoke about their prospective trips to Kenya and Japan.
The scandal-ridden music executive claimed Aoki alerted him that the photos would circulate online one day before. “I’m not gonna kick and scream about her choices,” the 66-year-old told TMZ. He has also shared supportive posts on his Instagram, expressing that “All I can do is offer my advice and unconditional love” for Aoki in the midst of her making headlines with Assaf.
“Correct. He’s her sugar daddy,” wrote another person who agreed with Aoki’s claims to not have a boyfriend. Another commenter echoed the same sentiment, “That man was clear as day her sugar daddy,” they wrote.
In the past, Aoki jokingly told her father she would seek out a sugar daddy if he did not increase her allowance. The poorly aged comment, which was caught on video, recently resurfaced.
A third said, “She was being too fast & kimmora said AHT AHT AHT !!!” The Baby Phat founder seemingly addressed her daughter’s love life as it exploded onto social media. In an Instagram Story post, she shared a clip of a panda dragging its cub back to their walled pen. Kimora captioned it, “On my last nerve right now!”
Looks like Kimora Lee Simmons is trying to understand Aoki Lee Simmons dating choices and is OVA it😩👀 #kimoraleesimmons #aokileesimmons #russellsimmons #vittorioassaf #hiphopculture #jviews #jviewsdaily #follow #jviewscelebritynews pic.twitter.com/qHznmfShmo
— JViews (@jviewsdaily) April 6, 2024
“It’s in her DNA her dad married and dates young women her mother married Old rich men why are y’all so surprised,” read another comment. Two others said, “He can’t be mad. He started dating her mother when she was barely legal” and “Same age as your daddy is wild!!!”
Russell and Kimora have been used as an example of a couple with a jarring age gap. The Def Jam Recordings founder was 35 and the Baby Phat founder was 17 when they first met in 1992. They wed in 1998 but divorced in 2009 and are also parents to daughter Ming Lee, 24.
