Russel Simmons Reveals Ex Kimora Lee Simmons Is Threatening His Relationship With His Kids

Russell Simmons has aired his side after his ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons claimed he has little involvement in their children's lives. In a Threads post, the 68-year-old record executive reacted to his former wife's recent interview with People, where she said that she does not have a relationship with the father of her children.

'I gave u 50,000 a month for 20 years. I was ur best /only friend. I'm the godfather to your other 3 kids, until one day you stole my stock,' Russell wrote. 'I have been fighting for my kids love and my bread ever since. You threatened that if I sued you, I would never speak to my kids again. There are two sides to every story.'

The Baby Phat founder has yet to respond publicly to Russell's statement.

Kimora's Story

Kimora shares two daughters with Russell, Ming Lee (25) and Aoki Lee (23). She also has a son with actor-model Djimon Hounsou, Kenzo (16), and another son, Gary (15) with ex-husband Tim Leissner. She adopted her youngest son, Wolfe (10), in 2020.

The model-turned-entrepreneur told People that she has relies on the support of her 'village,' composed of her family, friends and other people she can rely on to help her raise her children. She also admitted that being the primary parent most of the time has been challenging.

'Ming and Aoki are older, but I think they still feel very much like I'm 'mom,' and I think that's okay,' Kimora added. 'For sure they can come to me. They live at home, they travel the world and they have a place in New York.'

Kimora and Russell's Parenting Dramas

The former couple, who met in 1991 when the model was only 16 years old, got married in 1998. They separated in March 2006 and finalised their divorce in 2009.

The ex-couple's relationship turned sour in June 2023, when Ming and Aoiki publicly honoured their mother on Father's Day while pointedly excluding their father. Russell responded to the post with a cryptic quote, hinting that Kimora had a hand in his strained relationship with his daughters, as reported by Us Weekly.

The following day, Aoki shared now-deleted text messages and video chats with her father, accusing him of harassment and emotional instability.

'My father is not well, for years, he needs help and won't accept that he refuses to acknowledge he is not himself,' the now-deleted Twitter post said. '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.'

Kimora stepped in, demanding online that her ex-husband leave their children alone.

Russell subsequently apologised to his daughters on Instagram, saying: 'God is testing you a little bit, it's OK, be strong,' he wrote. '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.'

He added, '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.'