Fans Blast Kimora Lee Simmons For Ignoring Her Past Relationships While Judging Daughter's Age-Gap Romance

Kimora Lee Simmons is back in the spotlight thanks to her new reality show, "Back In The Fab Lane." With that, Kimora is finally dishing on many of the headlines that broke the internet during her time away from the public, including her younger daughter, Aoki Lee Simmons, and her alleged relationship with a man 44 years her senior. During a new interview, the fashion icon and outspoken reality star got candid about the huge age gap between her daughter and restaurateur Vittorio Assaf, calling it "predatorial" and even "crazy." However, social media users aren't sure they agree with her, essentially accusing her of hypocrisy for reportedly doing the same thing as her child when she was a young woman.

Speaking with the host of the "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast, Kimora opened up about what initially went through her mind when she learned her then-21-year-old daughter was in a reported relationship with a then-65-year-old man.

"I let my kids make their own mistakes, like I said. That's the whole thing we were saying about living out your life in public, and I think that's very, very, very tough," she said. "I don't even think that was a moment for them, though."

Kimora explained that she didn't know Aoki had any sort of relationship with Assaf, referencing the somewhat personal relationship she had with him herself. "... first of all, I know this guy," she said. "But I didn't know this guy in that capacity like with my kid or that you were even dating my kid."

Like everybody else in the world, Kimora had questions about the details of Aoki's alleged relationship with Assaf. However, she admitted that she didn't explode on her daughter like some may have thought. "... it blew up to be so much, so then you can't be the mom that's like, 'What the h-ll are you doing?' But that definitely was the thing," she said.

According to Kimora, things between Aoki and Assaf took off quicker than she'd expected, and the worst part for her was that she found out after photos of the two were shared online. "So that was what was so shocking. And you can't say as a mom, and I've learned all these crazy things. You can't give the, 'I told you so,' right now. You can't give the, 'What the h-ll are you doing' right now. You can't give those things right now," she said.

Regarding the short-lived relationship, which concluded after photos surfaced online in April 2024, according to an earlier report from The Blast, Kimora stated she wasn't a fan of their love story at all.

"It was a lot. But I do think in general, of those kinds of things, I feel like and having gone through not exactly the same but similar…that big age gap relationship, let's just call it that," she said.

Continuing, Kimora called Assaf's pursuit of her young daughter "predatorial." She added, "We said all of that to get to what Kimora thinks about it. I think that's predatorial and kinda crazy."

Social media users shared their reactions to Kimora's statements, and many weren't buying what she had to say, considering she met her ex-husband, Russell Simmons, when she was 17, and he was 35. They began dating shortly after.

One user wrote, "Kimora dated older men before her daughter was born. Where do you think she gets it from?" Another said, "Ma'am, your child's father now lives in Bali because of his predatory behavior."

A third user added, "WOW! Kind of defines IRONY, huh?"

The critical responses didn't end there. One Redditor wrote, "She's shocked her daughter followed in her own footsteps? Miss me with that sh-t."

"So she started dating Russell Simmons when he was 34, and she was 16...yes, 16, and she was shocked??" someone else added.

Another user shared a different perspective, writing, "Isn't it possible they were using or benefitting from each other, she gets access to his money and connections and he gets to date an attractive young woman."

"Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane" airs on Tuesdays at 10 PM EST.