Russell Simmons, 66, breaks his silence on 21-year-old daughter Aoki’s shock romance with Vittorio Assaf, 65

Russell Simmons has broken his silence about his 21-year-old daughter Aoki Lee Simmons dating 65-year-old restaurateur Vittorio Assaf.

 

Aoki and Vittorio shocked fans when they were spotted kissing in their swimwear on the beach in St Barts last week.

 

Reacting, Def Jam mogul told TMZ on Monday, April 8, “I’m not gonna kick and scream about her choices.”

 

The former husband of Aoki’s mother, model and designer Kimora Lee Simmons, added: “All I can do is offer my advice and unconditional love.”

 

Russell also said his daughter warned him of her romance a day before the photos surfaced.

 

Russell and Kimora were married from 1998 until 2009.

 

Aoki is Kimora’s youngest daughter she shares with Russell. She also shares daughter Ming, 24, with Russell. 

 

She has other kids, too: The fashion designer shares sons Kenzo, 14, and Wolfe, nearly nine, with exes Djimon Hounsou and Tim Leissner, respectively. With Leissner, she adopted her son Gary, 14, in 2020. 

 

Russell shared a throwback photo of Aoki after the pictures of her kissing Assaf came out.

 

The record exec posted a throwback photo with his daughter from June 2022 and shared a heartfelt message about his “unconditional love” for her.