Kimora Lee Simmons thinks there may be more to the story of how her younger daughter’s romantic getaway became headline-worthy news.
In early April, Aokie Lee, 21, was exposed by paparazzi, who caught her canoodling and kissing wealthy restaurateur Vittorio Assaf, 65, during a beach vacation to the secluded island of St. Barts.
The aspiring model shared a number of Instagram Story updates alluding to her spending time with her “boyfriend.” While a man’s voice was heard in her videos, she was intentional about not showing his face.
All that changed when images of her posing for bikini photos as Assaf snapped flicks with a cellphone and kissing the well-known businessman were published by Page Six. Days later, the young adult denied being in a relationship.
Amid the backlash for seemingly dating a man 44 years her senior, Kimora shared a post of an adult panda bear dragging its cub back to their habitat. She captioned it, “Getting on my nerves,” leaving many to speculate it was her unofficial statement regarding the issue.
A month later, the St. Louis native has opened up about her knowledge of the short-lived hookup.
When asked if she knew about the romance by a TMZ photographer, she said, “I don’t think she had an anything. I think that was just a — she’s a young pretty girl, and you know, I think that we don’t think that the toads we may kiss is gonna be like broadcast. And I personally feel a little bit like she was set up, which is why I try to teach the girls, right.”
AOKI LEE CAUGHT IN PHOTOS KISSING A 65 year old man & she’s allegedly 21 yro🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
— OPINIONATED_TRUTHS_PODCAST™️ (@O_Truths) April 5, 2024
But her mother was allegedly dating A 30 something grown man as a young teen and later married according to journalist Tourè
Thoughts ?? pic.twitter.com/mhtOZooLJ2
She was then asked to elaborate on how Aoki may have been duped into the controversial fling.
The Baby Phat founder explained, “Well, there’s definitely an age dynamic there, and I just feel like … she was set up a little bit.” Furthermore, Kimora admitted that the blunder being publicized made her feel unsettled. “I probably was a little bit embarrassed, but you know me, I’m definitely like it is what it is, honey. Come on home, let’s go. Mama’s got your back.”
Social media comments, however, pointed fingers at the veteran model for being the “blueprint” for Aoki to entertain romantic trysts with a significantly older suitor. Her ex-husband, Russell Simmons, notoriously met her during New York Fashion Week in 1992, when Kimora was 17 and he was 35. They began dating shortly aftewardr, and they were married in 1998. Their first daughter, Ming Lee, was born in 2000, and Aoki was welcomed two years later.
Russell Simmons was 35 when he started dating Kimora Lee Simmons, she was 17 and in high school.
— The Instigator (@Am_Blujay) April 6, 2024
Now their daughter Aoki Lee Simmons only 21 is dating Vittorio Assaf who is 65.
He was 44 years old when she was born. pic.twitter.com/tOOxxM4ZH6
A critical Instagram user wrote, “The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree hunnay! She was with Russ at a young age and he was a senior citizen am I correct?” Another person assured, “She was not set up. She doing what her momma did and talks about all the time. Get the bag by any means girl stop. She is just not the one we expected this from. I thought she was the innocient one.”
A theory regarding the alleged setup was explained by another person who suggested, “I think the set up she meant was the paparazzi conveniently there to catch him kissing her? That old man definitely called them to show off his young gf bcos No paps has ever followed him or even her anywhere before this.”
And at least one fan applauded Kimora for answering the questions regarding her younger daughter’s private life in a way that attempted to thwart some blowback from her actions. “Kimora is gonna protect them kids as much as she can, believe that!” read the comment.
Despite her ex-husband publicly claiming that he spoke with the Harvard graduate before the kiss-gate controversy made headlines, Kimora said that Aoki’s access to money has not been increased by the embattled celebrity. “Dad is nonexistent,” she said. “I do the allowance, and no, it hasn’t been upped.”
The former couple has been at odds in recent years, with the former music executive accusing his ex-wife of stealing money from him. Last year, she and Aoki publicly bashed Russell for financially cutting off the girls and being emotionally abusive to them. He denies their accusations.
