Kimora Lee Simmons and daughter accuse Russell Simmons of verbal abuse

Russell Simmons' family is accusing him of erratic and verbally abusive behavior, according to Instagram posts from ex-wife Kimora Lee Simmons and daughter Aoki Lee Simmons.

Simmons' estranged family is calling him out on social media, with 20-year-old Aoki sharing texts and soundless video call recordings in which the Def Jam co-founder appears to berate his crying daughter. "He's been awful to me for years," Aoki wrote on Instagram, adding that she's had severe panic attacks as a result of his behavior.

"My father is not well, for years" Aoki added. "He needs help and won't accept that. He refuses to acknowledge he is not himself. He has threatened and bullied my sister, my grandma, he has harassed my grandma in the middle of the night in poor health, sen[t] a man to my sister's apartment at 2am to scare her. He lashes out at ANYONE who does not say 'oh Russell everything is fine.' Well it's not fine."

Kimora also shared posts to her Instagram story, writing, "I'm so sorry to have to do this. But this man has been threatening my kids' lives. I'm hearing so much more now. We won't be bullied or threatened or afraid."

Amy Graves/WireImage; Jesse Grant/Getty Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee Simmons

Kimora continued, "No one should live like this. No one's child. This is abuse. Not ok."

Representatives for Simmons did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons married in 1998 before divorcing in 2009. They have two children: Aoki Lee, 20, and Ming Lee, 23. In the text messages posted to Aoki's story, Russell Simmons appears to call Kimora explicit names and accuse her of stealing "my money and the love of my kids."

In recent years, more than a dozen women have come forward to accuse Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct and assault. Simmons has denied all allegations. In 2020, filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering directed the HBO Max documentary On the Record, in which multiple women accuse Simmons of misconduct.

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