Russell Simmons, 66, breaks his silence on 21-year-old daughter Aoki's shock ... trends now
Russell Simmons has broken his silence about his 21-year-old daughter Aoki Lee Simmons dating 65-year-old restaurateur Vittorio Assaf, 65.
Aoki - who told DailyMail.com last week she wanted to 'grow' as a model - and Vittorio shocked fans when they were spotted kissing in their swimwear on the beach in St Barts last week.
It started a fierce viral debate about age gaps in relationships and how much is too much as Aoki is young enough to be Vittorio's granddaughter.
'I’m not gonna kick and scream about her choices,' said the Def Jam mogul to TMZ on Monday.
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 Simmons has broken his silence about his 21-year-old daughter Aoki Lee Simmons dating 65-year-old restaurateur Vittorio Assaf, 65. Seen in 2014
Aoki and Vittorio shocked fans when they were spotted kissing in their swimwear on the beach in St Barts last week
Aoki and 44-years her senior Assaf kissed while in swimsuits in St Barts
Russell also said his daughter warned him of her romance a day before the photos surfaced.
Russell and Kimora were wed from 1998 until 2009.
Aoki is Kimora's youngest daughter she shares with her first husband. 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 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.
He recalled that they had an 'all-around amazing day' last Father's Day — the day before a video went viral showing him berating his daughter during a disturbing FaceTime call and making her cry — and enjoyed a jam-packed day with yoga class, vegan lunch and cryotherapy.
'Throw back from last fathers day nyc …bode bikram yoga express class .. vegan lunch cryotherapy vitamin drip … all around amazing day,' he wrote in the caption and tagged his daughter. 'love you always im always waiting for any call any time.'
It started a fierce viral debate about age gaps in relationships and how much is too much
'I’m not gonna kick and scream about her choices,' said the Def Jam mogul to TMZ on Monday. 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 posted a throwback photo with his daughter from June 2022 and shared a heartfelt message about his 'unconditional love' for her
Kimora, 48, reposted a since-deleted video of a mother panda furiously pulling away her baby cub with her teeth and wrote: 'On my last nerve right now!'
Assaf is a known New York City personality. He owns the Serafina Restaurant Group.
He grew up in Milan, Italy where he studied hard: first with a degree in Political Science then he studied Law at the University of Urbino.
Assaf spent eight years on the floor of Milan’s Stock Exchange then came to New York in the eighties.
Assaf opened Café Candiotti in 1985, which became a hot spot and now runs the
