NEED TO KNOW
\nRussell Simmons and ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons welcomed daughters Ming and Aoki before their divorce in 2006Since then, the family has publicly feuded on multiple occasionsIn December 2025, Russell addressed Kimora’s claim to PEOPLE that she “doesn’t have a relationship” with her kids’ fathers<\/p>\n
The Simmons family has been publicly feuding for years.\n<\/p>\n
Kimora Lee Simmons<\/a>, who met Russell Simmons<\/a> as a high schooler during New York Fashion Week in 1992, married him in 1998 and divorced him in 2006. The two share daughters Ming<\/a> and Aoki<\/a>, whom they welcomed together in 2000 and 2002, respectively.\n<\/p>\n In addition to Aoki and Ming, Kimora is mom to son\u00a0Kenzo<\/a> (with ex\u00a0Djimon Hounsou<\/a>), son\u00a0Wolfe<\/a> (with estranged husband\u00a0Tim Leissner<\/a>) and son\u00a0Gary<\/a> (whom she adopted in 2020).\n<\/p>\n In December 2025, Russell and Kimora’s feud resurfaced after the fashion mogul told PEOPLE that she “doesn’t have a relationship<\/a>” with her kids’ fathers, prompting Russell to respond to her on social media, saying, “there are two sides to every story<\/a>.”\n<\/p>\n The mom of five has also accused Russell of being “abusive” to the women in his life. (Eighteen women have\u00a0previously accused Simmons<\/a>\u00a0of sexual misconduct. He has settled with at least five women, according to a November 2025 Rolling Stone<\/a> report.)\n<\/p>\n Here’s everything to know about the Simmons’ public family feud.\n<\/p>\n Russell and Kimora share two children <\/p>\n Russell Simmons with Ming Lee Simmons and Aoki Lee Simmons.<\/p>\n Jason Kempin\/Getty<\/p>\n During their marriage, Russell and Kimora welcomed two daughters. Their oldest, Ming Lee Simmons, arrived on Jan. 21, 2000, with her younger sister, Aoki, arriving on Aug. 16, 2002.\n<\/p>\n Both Ming and Aoki have followed in their parents’ footsteps into the spotlight, particularly in the world of fashion.\n<\/p>\n Aoki, who graduated from Harvard<\/a> in June 2023, has been modeling for her entire adult life, but announced that she would be “wrapping up<\/a>” this chapter of her career in October 2024.\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to go somewhere and get told over and over and over, ‘No, [and] you\u2019re not pretty enough,’ ” she told her followers during an Instagram Live, adding that going to castings often feels \u201clike one big fat comparison.”\n<\/p>\n In November 2025, Ming opened up to PEOPLE about launching her company, Boulangerie Beauty, which was inspired by her childhood trips to Paris with her mom.\n<\/p>\n “I wanted to show her that I could do this<\/a> on my own,” she said. “At the very beginnings of this, I asked her for help, but I wanted to prove to myself I could do it.”<\/p>\n They divorced in 2006 and Russell sued Kimora in 2021 <\/p>\n Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee Simmons.<\/p>\n Theo Wargo\/WireImage<\/p>\n Russell and Kimora tied the knot on Dec. 20, 1998, and went their separate ways in 2006.\n<\/p>\n \u201cKimora and I will\u00a0remain committed parents and caring friends with great love and admiration for each other. We will also continue to work side by side on a daily basis as partners in all of our businesses,” Russell said in a statement at the time.\n<\/p>\n It wasn’t until March 2008 that Kimora filed for divorce<\/a>, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized the following year.<\/p>\n In May 2021, Russell sued Kimora and Leissner<\/a>, alleging that they conspired to make a fraudulent transfer of Simmons’ nearly 4 million shares of energy drink company Celsius. That lawsuit is ongoing, per Rolling Stone.\n<\/p>\n The family fought online in 2023 <\/p>\n Kimora Lee Simmons, Ming Lee Simmons, Russell Simmons and Aoki Lee Simmons.<\/p>\n Jemal Countess\/WireImage<\/p>\n The family’s first big public feud came in June 2023, when Ming wished her mother a “Happy Father’s Day” (and did not acknowledge Russell) in her Instagram Stories.\n<\/p>\n However, the following day, Russell shared a post<\/a> to his own Instagram Stories that appeared to address his family. The image featured a black background with white text that read: “Stop telling fathers they should have fought harder to see their children & start asking mothers why he had to fight at all.\u201d\n<\/p>\n He followed up with a second slide that featured a quote, which read: \u201cThe father you have is the perfect father for the evolution of your soul and the lessons that you needed to learn in this lifetime.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Later, Aoki backed her mom and sister, posting a video of Russell appearing to yell at her over FaceTime to her Instagram page. In another post on her Instagram Stories, Aoki said that she once thought Russell was once “the best dad ever” but was going through a “terrifying change.”\n<\/p>\n “This is not someone who will accept help,” she wrote at the time. “This is just one screen recording sorry I don\u2019t always remember to press ‘record’ when he calls my friends, my boyfriend, anyone, to get a chance to threaten and curse and go crazy.”\n<\/p>\n On June 20, Russell posted another cryptic message, appearing to apologize<\/a> to his two daughters after Kimora accused him of \u201cthreatening my kids’ lives.\u201d Addressing Aoki and Ming in a post, Russell wrote<\/a>, \u201cGod is testing you a little bit, it\u2019s ok, be strong. . . they are called growing pains . . . as you know, we grow through adversity and struggle.\u201d\n<\/p>\n He added, \u201cDEEPLY sorry for being frustrated and yelling. But know this . . . there are no conditions . . . for sure i love you guys more than i love myself.”<\/p>\n Russell said there are “two sides to every story” in 2025 <\/p>\n Russell Simmons.<\/p>\n Rodin Eckenroth\/WireImage<\/p>\n The drama between Russell and Kimora ramped back up in December 2025, when Kimora told PEOPLE that she “doesn’t have a relationship, really” with any of her kids’ fathers.\n<\/p>\n “Usually I would say that I co-parent okay, but the kids are with me full-time,” she said. “I’m pretty much the primary parent. It’s difficult, but I don’t know sometimes what other people are thinking. Guys are weird.”\n<\/p>\n