Kimora Lee Simmons thanked firefighters with the Los Angeles Fire Department on Saturday, saying they ‘quite possibly saved [the] lives’ of her and her family following a blaze inside their home.
The fashion designer, 48, posted a series of images on her Instagram Stories documenting the damage the blaze caused, showing a group of firefighters tending to charring emanating from the home’s fireplace.
‘The kids and I are all fine,’ Simmons told more than 2.3 million followers. ‘I cannot express enough my deepest gratitude to the numerous battalions, ladders and units that attended to us for any hours together and quite possibly saved our lives. THANK YOU!’
It was not immediately clear who was on the premises at the time the fire broke out.
The St. Louis-born celebrity is mother to five children: daughters Ming, 23, and Aoki, 21, with ex-husband Russell Simmons, 66; son Kenzo, 14, with ex-boyfriend Djimon Hounsou, 59; son Wolfe, eight, with estranged husband Tim Leissner, 52; and son Gary, 13, who she adopted nearly four years ago.
![Kimora Lee Simmons, 48, thanked firefighters with the Los Angeles Fire Department on Saturday, saying they 'quite possibly saved [the] lives' of her and her family following a blaze inside their home. Pictured last month in LA](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/04/02/78538499-12821731-image-a-71_1701656155010.jpg)
Kimora Lee Simmons, 48, thanked firefighters with the Los Angeles Fire Department on Saturday, saying they ‘quite possibly saved [the] lives’ of her and her family following a blaze inside their home. Pictured last month in LA
The Baby Phat entrepreneur opened up about her parenting philosophy this past May to People, saying that ‘being a single mom, I think about my kids all the time and that’s it.’
She added: ‘My kids, their friends, my other kids, like, you know, I have a lot.’
Simmons said her primary motivation in life was to keep her children happy: ‘I feel like that’s the work that I do every day to keep that smile on their face. And again, that “smile” means so much.’
Said Simmons: ‘I’m a single mom of five kids and I know how hard it can be … it doesn’t matter if you’re rich and famous, at the end of the day … you’re a community person, a caregiver, you’re just there trying to make everything come together.’
The famed family was in the headlines earlier this year after Aoki, a model and Harvard graduate, and Kimora spoke publicly in June about their grievances with Russell Simmons.
Aoki claimed he had been verbally abusive toward her earlier this year, sharing text messages and screengrabs of her communications with her father, whose career has tumbled after at least 15 women accused him of sexual misconduct amid the rise of the MeToo movement in late 2017. He has denied all allegations.
Aoki explained to Teen Vogue in September about her rationale in going public with details of her stormy relationship with her father, saying that he had negatively impacted her mental health with his mercurial conduct.
‘Part of it was already out there,’ Aoki said. ‘There were reasons I thought it was reasonable to publish because it was playing out in, like, a silent bubble.’
Simmons shared a message of gratitude toward the professionals who she said saved her life and home
Four firefighters were seen tending to the blaze, which had damaged the hardwood floor in the home
Simmons was pictured with her five kids (L-R) Gary, Kenzo, Wolfe, Ming and Aoki – in Carson, California last year at a charity event
Aoki in June posted texts and video of her interactions with her father in depicting their fractured relationship.
She said the Def Jam co-founder had been ‘awful to [her] for years,’ and that she’d had significant anxiety issues as a result.
Aoki said that Russell – who tried in vain to salvage his reputation following the sexual misconduct allegations with a publicity campaign – has not been well ‘for years.’
She wrote: ‘He needs help and won’t accept that. He refuses to acknowledge he is not himself.
‘He has threatened and bullied my sister, my grandma, he has harassed my grandma in the middle of the night in poor health, [sent] a man to my sister’s apartment at 2am to scare her.’
Aoki said that Russell ‘lashes out at ANYONE who does not say “oh Russell everything is fine,”‘ adding, ‘Well it’s not fine.’
Kimora also took to social media with posts about her ex-husband’s allegedly abusive conduct, saying that while she was ‘so sorry to have to do this,’ it was essential to make the situation publicly known.
‘This man has been threatening my kids’ lives,’ said Kimora, who was wed to Russell from 1998 until 2009. ‘We won’t be bullied or threatened or afraid. No one should live like this. No one’s child. This is abuse. Not ok.’
Kimora and Aoki were critical of Russell Simmons in June, when they took to social media with complaints about his behavior. Pictured last month in LA
Aoki in June posted texts and video of her interactions with her father in depicting their fractured relationship, including screengrabs from a tense FaceTime interaction
Kimora also took to social media posts with depictions of her ex-husband’s conduct, saying that while she was ‘so sorry to have to do this,’ it was essential to make known the situation publicly
Aoki told Teen Vogue that a celebrity (who she did not name) reassured her that her actions were appropriate.
She said the celeb told her, ‘Oh, I saw your thing. I did the same thing when I was, like, 20, and it was fine.’
Aoki declined to speak to the magazine about the sexual misconduct accusations that have been made against her father, as the publication reported that she stressed ‘a desire not to step out of place in consideration of all parties involved.’
