Russell Simmons extended an olive branch to his ex-wife, Kimora Lee Simmons, over the weekend.
On Sunday (May 4), Kimora’s 50th birthday, the Def Jam Recordings co-founder penned a heartfelt message for her on Instagram, a sign he’s trying put their contentious past to rest and move into a new phase.
“Let me share a prayer on your 50 birthday,” he wrote. “I’m praying for your peace and happiness, also for the resolution of all outstanding sources of pain and conflict. I am a believer that hate hurts the hater.. And more importantly I sincerely stand in acceptance and forgiveness with a sincere desire to be in union with all living members of my family, and in-doing so in union with our combined ancestors.
“Let’s be open to putting our children, godchildren and ultimately our happiness in the forefront of any worldly goals or desires. I will love u until death for all you have given me. Keep being the great example of motherhood that you always have been. Ps 50 never looked so good. God blessed u with longevity (asian and black genes) and the ability to continue to evolve. GOOD LUCK Now comes the good part.”
Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee, who share two daughters, were married from 1998 to 2009. Since their divorce, they’ve had a rollercoaster relationship. Kimora was in Russell’s corner when he was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women beginning in 2017, but their relationship soon started to deteriorate.
In 2021, Russell sued Kimora, accusing her and estranged husband Tim Leissner of breach of contract, fraudulent concealment and breach of confidential relations/constructive fraud, among other charges. He alleged that he, Kimora and Leissner entered a business arrangement in 2016, when the couple joined his investment company, Nu Horizons.
During their time working for Nu Horizons, the organization made “considerable investments” in the “tens of millions of dollars” range to energy fitness drink brand Celsius Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded company.
The suit continues to claim that when Leissner was arrested on separate money laundering charges in 2017, he and Lee “conspired” to use their stake in Celsius to “fraudulently transfer” almost four million Celsius shares to themselves. Leissner pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit money laundering for the theft of billions of dollars from Malaysian wealth fund 1MDB in 2018.
In order to avoid jail time, he agreed to forfeit nearly $44 million. Russell claimed he didn’t find out about the fraud until July 2019. Kimora’s attorneys said in a statement to E! News at the time, “We will confront his baseless claims… Our team is actively working to put a firm end to his harassment.”
A judge has scheduled the trial for January 2, 2026, in Los Angeles Superior Court.
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