Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, has recently been in the news for various reasons. Simmons has also been coping with the aftermath of his divorce from Kimora Lee Simmons, in addition to the recent allegations of s*xual misconduct against him.
In November 1992, Simmons and model Kimora Lee first met. They were married on the island of Saint Barthélemy on December 20, 1998. The couple has two children. Simmons announced his split from Lee in March 2006, and the couple finalized their divorce two years later.
The couple stated “irreconcilable differences” as the cause for their divorce. There are, however, rumors that Russell’s extramarital affairs were the real reason for the split.
Kimora Lee Simmons shared a series of Instagram stories in which she claimed that her ex-husband, Russell Simmons, had been “bυllying” and “threἀtening” their children, Ming Lee Simmons and Aoki Lee Simmons.
According to Instagram posts from his daughter Aoki Lee Simmons and ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons, Hip-hop and Lifestyle mogul Russell Simmons has allegedly become erratic and increasingly hostile towards his own family.
Aoki shared tense text messages with her father on Instagram Stories on Monday, alleging, “He’s been awful to me for years.” One post appears to show Simmons labeling Kimora, Aoki’s mother, a “piece of [s]hit,” and accusing her of stealing money from him.
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Aoki claims in subsequent text images that Simmons only telephones her to rant and curse about his legal issues. She shared a muted recording of a FaceTime call in which Simmons is audibly angry and yelled, “This is not someone who will accept help.”
Simmons, who co-founded Def Jam Recordings in 1984, has been accυsed of s*xual misconduct and assἀult multiple times in recent years. On the Record, a 2020 HBO Max documentary, will cover these allegations and feature interviews with his accυsers.
Simmons also sued Kimora in 2021, alleging that she and her then-partner Tim Leissner, a former managing director at Goldman Sachs, stole his company shares to pay for a fine Leissner received after pleading guilty to financial offenses.
Last year, Kimora countersued Simmons and won a $100,000 judgment. Kimora expressed her own concerns regarding Simmons’ recent behavior on Instagram Stories and warned him in an Instagram Live that she has “receipts” demonstrating how he has spiraled downward.
Kimora said –
“Please don’t attack my children. They’ve been through so much.”
“Please don’t attack my family, which is supposed to be your family, too.”
She further stated that Simmons appears to be “at rock bottom” and may be desperate for money. At another point in her Live video, Lee implored, “Please leave us alone.”
She posted a screenshot of her daughter Aoki’s text to Simmons, in which she claimed she had panic attacks due to his alleged verbal abυse over the phone, along with the caption, “No one should live like this. No one’s child. This is abυse.” Lee stated elsewhere, “We won’t be bullἰed, threἀtened, or afraid.”
Aoki alleged in her posts that Simmons had sworn to prevent her from obtaining certain fashion jobs, “threἀtened and bullἰed” her sister and grandmother, and lashed out randomly at anyone he perceives to be opposing him. She also claimed that he is in the midst of a mental health crisis or “experiencing something like dementia,” because he “acts like he hates and does not know his children frequently.”
Simmons was “the best dad ever” prior to his current phase, according to her, and the change has been “terrifying.” Aoki appeared to indicate a need to cut connections with Simmons, at least for the time being, stating in a comment that she would have to block him.
In her most recent Instagram Story on the matter, she added a smiling photo of Simmons holding her as a small kid, stating, “I did the best that I could, anyway I’m out of here.”
Recent events have served to highlight Russell Simmons’s complexity and controversy. He is an accomplished entrepreneur who has shaped the music industry. Nonetheless, he is a man who has been accυsed of grave wrongdoing. How the recent news will impact his life and career remains to be seen.