Russell Simmons has recently come under fire after a muted facetime video appeared online in which he appeared to berate his oldest daughter Aoki Simmons.
His ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons accused 65-year-old Russell of ‘endangerment’ [their] children’s lives” and claims that Aoki, 20, has severe panic attacks as a result of his behavior and is given emergency medication every time she speaks to him.
Explaining the shocking footage, their youngest daughter, Aoki, took to Instagram live and, despite previously defending her father, said, “this man is horrible to me. He did terrible things to me and I’m so tired.’
She appeared in tears and said that she was afraid to speak in the past because her father is well-liked in the entertainment industry.
But who is Aoki Simmons and what does she do? Here’s everything you need to know about Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee Simmons’ daughter.
Disturbing footage: Kimora Lee Simmons shared this muted FaceTime call that appears to show her ex-husband Russell Simmons berating their youngest daughter Aoki Lee Simmons
Who is Aoki Simmons?
Aoki Lee Simmons is a part-time model and Harvard graduate. She was born in August 2002 and is only 20 years old.
Her parents divorced in 2009 after ten years of marriage and together had another daughter, Ming Lee Simmons.
Her mother, Kimora revealed People in 2022, she is now the primary caretaker of three sons Kenzo, Gary, and Wolfe.
Aoki enrolled at Ivy League University at just 16 years old and graduated four years later, making her one of the youngest black women to do so.
Kimora shared on Instagram, writing, “My little girl graduated from Harvard!!!,
AND with a double major! AND one of the youngest in recent history to do so at only 20 years young!’
Former model Kimora Lee Simmons, 48, and her daughter Aoki on her graduation day, the part-time model is one of the youngest black women to graduate from Ivy League school
Kimora Lee Simmons with her two daughters Aoki Lee Simmons (left) and Ming Lee Simmons (right)
What is Aoki Simmons’ job?
Aoki has followed in her model mother’s footsteps with a career in print and catwalk. Since childhood, she and her sister Ming have been the face of her mother’s clothing brand Baby Phat.
Currently signed to Nomad’s management, she designed a line for JustFab last year and walked runways at Pyer Moss and Carlton Jones.
Aoki was criticized for her decision to pursue a modeling career despite being enrolled in an Ivy League University.
She was asked on social media why she pursued a modeling career. “You are so eloquent and clearly educated,” was the comment, “how come you chose modeling?”
Aoki Simmons is a signed model and defended her decision to continue the career despite being highly educated
Aoki Simmons models her mother’s clothing brand Baby Phat
The 20-year-old posted a video in response, saying: ‘Firstly, models are not uneducated and not articulate.
“But two, I think what you’re really referring to is, ‘Why am I going into a field that doesn’t necessarily require a whole lot of book learning if I’ve had a lot of education?
She simply said, “because I love it.”
During her daughter’s defense, Kimora told People, “I love that she’s following in my footsteps.”
“But I also think it’s annoying because if I had anything like what they have, maybe I wouldn’t have been a model. But I think it’s just looking at different sides of a coin.’
The internet personality has 786,000 followers on Instagram and over 220,000 followers on TikTok.
She is a frequent poster and usually shares wellness and travel videos as well as her modeling experiences.
Is Aoki Simmons Dating?
Aoki Simmons was not currently dating anyone, and came under fire in February 2023 for her decision to date a white man – which she defended on her social media platforms
Aoki Simmons wouldn’t date anyone at this point.
She is said to have had at least one previous relationship and came under fire after revealing her ex-boyfriend on social media in February 2023.
After posting an untagged Valentine’s Day post from her beau, commenters attacked her decision to date a white man.
After the flood of unfriendly comments to the now-deleted post, Aoki decided to respond on her Instagram story.
She wrote, “It really is so awful. How is a young person supposed to live a normal, well-adjusted life when this is what happens on a goddamn tagless Valentine’s Day post.
“People I haven’t wronged or hurt are just terribly bitter and racist.”
She went on to write about how she needs to reconsider what she’s using the platform for and she hasn’t had any photos of romantic interests since.