Russell Simmons has claimed that his ex-wife, Baby Phat founder and model Kimora Lee Simmons, stole money from him to get her husband out of jail on bail.
“I must’ve been a shit partner, from what I hear,” he told Graham Bensinger in an interview that went viral on Thursday (December 7). “No. I was very generous and tried to be supportive. We were together 15 years, Kimora and I. And for eight years, we were married. And together for seven, before that. And then, I was best friends with Kimora throughout the entire raising of my children.”
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Despite the seemingly idyllic setting, however, the mogul said it didn’t take long for the whole situation to go left. “So, I tried to be flexible, and accommodating, and supportive,” he continued. “And sometimes, things don’t work out. You’ve seen the lawsuit. I had no choice. I think Jesus Christ, Lord Buddha, anybody would have sued. […] She gave what is now, today, based on the value of the stock, $800million to the government illegally, and now I’m fighting to get my half of it back.”
During Simmons’s statements, a headline blaring, “Russell Simmons Sues Ex-Wife Kimora Lee for Fraud and Allegedly Stealing Stocks to Pay Her New Husband’s Bail Fees” from Vanity Fair came across the screen. Check out the full interview clip below.
The new husband in question, Tim Leissner, pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in 2018. He was also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
At the time, Russell Simmons alleged that Kimora Lee Simmons ponied up $44million in Celsius stocks (or, the equivalent of about four million shares) to use as collateral for Leissner’s federal bond, pending the outcome of the trial.
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While Russell first claimed that Kimora defrauded him out of the Celsius shares back in 2021, per Yahoo, in May 2023, RadarOnline subsequently learned that Simmons was forced to cough up $100,000 to Kimora Lee a few months before his daughters accused him of abuse.
In his suit, Simmons said the couple used the funds to pay for legal fees associated with the husband’s federal fraud case. In addition to pleading guilty to the charges, Leissner was ordered to pay back $43.7 million as part of his sentence.
However, in November 2022, Kimora was awarded $100,000 in legal fees as part of the case after she emerged victorious from a breach of contract claim against the Phat Farm founder.
Simmons subsequently offered up an apology to his family following their Father’s Day spat in June 2023, writing on Instagram that “God is testing” his daughters.
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“God is testing you a little bit, it’s ok, be strong. . . they are called growing pains,” he wrote alongside a photo of Ming and Aoki. “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 ‘smile and breathe’ [heart emoji] ‘smile and breathe.'”
He continued: “You are the watchers of this world . . . so let go . . . be at ease . . . God is driving and he is working on you [heart emoji]. 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.”
