Russell Simmons is clapping back after his ex-wife, Kimora Lee, claimed she was shut out of key decisions surrounding the sale of Baby Phat.
The latest disagreement began after Lee appeared on the Aspire With Emma Grede podcast and spoke about the 2004 sale of Phat Fashions to the Kellwood Company.
According to Lee, she was left out of conversations leading up to the deal and received far less than expected from the reported $140 million sale.
“I probably got $20 million of that, or less,” Lee said. “I was not privy to the fact” that early talks about the sale were taking place.
Simmons hopped online and into the comments to fire back.
“I gave her the brand, which already existed,” Simmons wrote. He added that he found designers for Baby Phat and marketed the company, with Lee as its face.
While Simmons said Lee later “blossomed,” he also called it “very generous” of him to help create the platform that led to her success.
Kimora Lee recalls her ex-husband, Russell Simmons, being furious when he presented her with a prenup alongside a lawyer recommended to him by Trump, prompting her to seek her own attorney through Trump’s wife at the time
— Block Topickz (formerly Glock Topickz) (@BlockTopickz) April 10, 2026
: Aspire w/ @EmmaGrede
: https://t.co/0cg3mFxiHX pic.twitter.com/y8Xc0jAZUB
Lee recently legally dropped “Simmons” from her name, a move her representative said was for the former fashion model’s “clarity and ownership” as she continues to grow her business ventures.
Lee and Simmons were married from 1998 to 2009 and share two daughters. Lee regained control of Baby Phat in 2019.
