'God is Testing You': Russell Simmons Fires Back at Daughters After Family Accuses Him of Verbal Abuse and 'Hitting Rock Bottom'
June 20 2023, Published 11:30 a.m. ET
Russell Simmons apologized to his daughters this week after the pair accused the disgraced music mogul of verbal abuse and hitting “rock bottom,” RadarOnline.com has learned.
In the latest development to come after Ming Lee and Aoki Lee Simmons – whom Russell shares with ex-wife Kimora Lee – snubbed their father on Father’s Day, Russell rushed to Instagram on Monday to apologize for his recent and arguably erratic behavior.
The 65-year-old embattled entrepreneur’s response also came just hours after Aoki leaked a series of shocking FaceTime videos that captured Russell shouting at her.
“God is testing you a little bit, it’s ok, be strong. . . they are called growing pains . . . as you know, we grow through adversity and struggle,” Russell wrote in an Instagram post to his daughters on Monday night.
“You read my books and heard me preach your whole childhood . . . reach back to old lessons and remember to remember ‘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.”
“DEEPLY sorry for being frustrated and yelling,” Russell added. “But know this . . . there are no conditions . . . for sure i love you guys more than i love myself.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Aoki, Ming, and Kimora took to social media on Monday to beg Russell to leave them alone.
The Simmons family also suggested Russell “needed help” and was “mentally ill.”
“Some of us do think he’s mentally ill or experiencing [something] like dementia, he really acts like he hates and does not know children frequently,” Aoki wrote after leaking the startling FaceTime videos.
Meanwhile, Kimora – who split from Russell in 2009 – also released a video in which she begged her ex-husband to stop “attacking [their] children” and to leave the family alone.
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“I’m just asking that you please leave us alone,” Kimora said in the emotional video on Monday. “I’ve tried to go to lawyers to get help. I’ve tried to show all the crazy texts I’ve had to block. You do crazy s--- like send flowers to yourself and tell everybody that I sent you flowers.”
“Again, I have receipts for all of this,” she continued. “I have all of this. But please don’t attack my children. They’ve been through so much.”
