Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons‘ youngest daughter Aoki Lee is the center of gossip as she is currently in a relationship with a man who is 65 years old.
Photos of the 21-year-old Harvard graduate kissing restaurateur and businessman Vittorio Assaf while vacationing in St. Barts began making the rounds on Saturday (April 6), with the cyberspace reacted with an even mix of humor and horror.
Through it all, she kept her composure and even went live on social media to show off her last day on the island with her partner.
Her mother seemingly reacted to the news by posting a video on her Instagram Story that showed a panda bear dragging her playful cub with the caption: “On my last nerve right now.”
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For his part, Russell posted a photo with Aoki and made it clear that he supports his daughter despite all the noise surrounding her romance.
“Throw back from last fathers day nyc,” he wrote. “bode bikram yoga express class .. vegan lunch cryotherapy vitamin drip … all around amazing day [heart emoji] @aokileesimmons love you always.”
Soon after, he told TMZ that he was given a heads up about the couple being together as well as the aforementioned photos before they went public, saying: “I’m not gonna kick and scream about her choices. All I can do is offer my advice and unconditional love.”
Meanwhile, Russell Simmons has his own drama to deal with as sexual assault allegations against him continue to mount.
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The most recent of these cases arrived in mid-February, when a woman who served as an executive at Def Jam during the ’90s sued the mogul for sexual harassment and rape. Filed under Jane Doe in the New York federal court, the lawsuit alleges false imprisonment, battery, emotional distress and a violation of the state’s gender-motivated violence law.
Joe Budden is among those who have voiced their solidarity with the businessman as the matter unfolds. During an episode of his eponymous podcast, the polarizing media figure said that nothing will make people stop loving Simmons because he’s impacted too many lives.
“They love Russell Simmons,” he began. “I know y’all don’t want to say it, y’all don’t want to admit to it. I know people seen whatever doc they seen, people believe what they believe. There’s nothing y’all can do to make people stop loving Russell Simmons. Not a thing in the world. Not a thing in the universe is going to make people stop loving Russell Simmons for as many lives as he impacted.”
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In addition to noting that the 66-year-old “has been nothing but kind, gentle, sweet, generous and amazing if you don’t have that horror story,” he also blamed women who accuse men of sexual assault.
“As somebody that has spent a lot of time in the music business, nobody speaks to the side where the women were auctioning their pussy to move up in the ranks of the system. This existed way before I got to town. But that was happening too. But nobody says that part. Again, I’m not speaking about Russell Simmons, I’m just talking blanket, broad.”
