Ming and Aoki Lee, Russell Simmons’ daughters, snubbed their dad on Father’s Day. The holiday is usually a joyful experience for fathers and their kids. However, this Father’s Day came with a different experience for Russell Simmons. His daughters chose to ignore him while celebrating their mother. This caused a lot of drama for the family, resulting in a messy back and forth.
Who Are Ming and Aoki Simmons?
Kimora Lee and Russell Simmons married in 1998 but called it quits in 2009. The estranged couple share daughters Ming and Aoki Lee Simmons. The former couple welcomed their older daughter Ming in 2000. Ming studied at New York University and graduated in 2023. The 23-year-old is a model and social media personality.
She often shares vlogs on TikTok and posts stunning photos of herself on Instagram. In a 2023 interview with Hypebae, the model shared that her mother has greatly impacted her life. She stated that she learned the value of hard work from her.
In the wake of the Father’s Day drama with her dad, Ming also took a jab at her father in an Instagram update. On Sunday, she shared a throwback photo of herself and her mom, 48, on her Instagram Story. “Happy Father’s Day 🤍,” she wrote alongside the photo, which showed them walking the runway during a Baby Phat fashion show. Per Page Six, following his daughter’s indirect insult, Russell, 65, shared a cryptic message on social media that implied Kimora caused the strained relationship with his daughters.
Inside Their Father’s Day Drama
Kimora and Russell welcomed their younger daughter Aoki in 2002. Like her mom and sister, Aoki is a model. She is also a graduate of Harvard University. After her graduation, the 20-year-old spoke with People in an interview wherein she shared that she was excited to finally graduate and start a new phase of her life.
On Monday, June 19, Aoki responded to her father’s post by sharing photos of the heated text messages she and Russell had shared the day before. In an emotional video on her Instagram story, Aoki claimed that her father threatened her boyfriend, sister, and grandmother. According to her, the Def Jam cofounder threatened to thwart her chance of getting any fashion job if she spoke out.
Aoki added a video of a screen recording of a video call with her dad. The video had no sound but showed a seemingly upset and emotional Russell. Throughout the drama, Kimora sided with her daughters. She shared clips and messages on social media claiming that Russell threatened her girls.
In subsequent developments, Russell responded to the back and forths by apologizing to his daughters. He dropped a profound message in the comment section of Aoki’s Live Instagram session.
