Kimora Lee Simmons Fires Back at Russell Simmons Over Family Drama and ‘Lies’: ‘Answer Your Accusers’

Kimora Lee Simmons is responding to her ex-husband Russell Simmons‘ claims about his relationship with their two daughters.

In an Instagram Story post on Monday, Dec. 15, the model and fashion mogul, 50, began, “My “girls” are GROWN WOMEN!”

Kimora continued, “You know these are lies. Why are you typing from thousands of miles away in a non extradition country? Go negotiate and Answer your Accusers.”

Kimora’s response comes after Russell, 68, posted a scathing statement on Threads on Dec. 14, “I gave u 50,000 a month for 20 years,” Russell, who shares daughters Ming Lee, 25, and Aoki Lee, 23, with Kimora, wrote on Threads. “I was ur best /only friend. I’m the godfather to your other 3 kids, until one day you stole my stock.”

“I have been fighting for my kids love and my bread ever since,” he continued. “You threatened that if I sued you, I would never speak to my kids again. There are two sides to every story.”

Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE on Dec. 11, Kimora shared that she doesn’t “have a relationship really” with her kids’ fathers. She went on to tell PEOPLE that she credits her “village” of “friends and family and people my kids can rely on” for helping her as she navigates parenting her children “full-time.”

“Usually I would say that I co-parent okay, but the kids are with me full-time,” she explained. “I’m pretty much the primary parent. It’s difficult, but I don’t know sometimes what other people are thinking. Guys are weird.”

In addition to the daughters she shares with Russell, Kimora also shares a son with ex Djimon Hounsou and a son with ex Tim Leissner.

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“Ming and Aoki are older, but I think they still feel very much like I’m ‘mom,’ and I think that’s okay,” Kimora added. “For sure they can come to me. They live at home, they travel the world and they have a place in New York.”

Kimora also emphasized that her “life doesn’t ever revolve around a guy, ever.”

“I am thankful I’m able to be there for my family in ways that other people or parents are not,” she said. “If I wasn’t this person, I don’t know if we would’ve made it or if we would be okay. It’s been very important to me to be strong and self-reliant, and to constantly be growing.”

Kimora and Russell, who married in 1998 and split in 2006 before their divorce was finalized in 2009, were at the center of another controversy involving their daughters in June 2023 when the fashion mogul backed up her daughter Aoki’s allegations that the former Def Jam Recordings executive would “threaten” her boyfriend and friends if she blocked him or “[took] some space.” 

Russell has been accused of sexually assaulting and raping more than 20 women since 2017. The allegations span more than 30 years, and include inappropriate behavior in business meetings to attempted assault in a women’s restroom in New York City during a night of partying, and an alleged rape at his apartment.

Simmons has repeatedly denied any violent behavior.

Shortly after accusations of harassment and violent behavior were made public, Simmons relinquished all of his duties as head of the Def Jam empire. The 2020 documentary On the Record, released on HBO Max, detailed the stories of multiple women who came forward to speak out against the entrepreneur.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.