Kimora Lee Says Tyra Banks Tried To Protect Her From Russell Simmons

A decades-old warning from Tyra Banks looks very different to Kimora Lee now than it did when she was a teenage model being pursued by Russell Simmons. Lee says she once assumed Banks was “hating” by trying to keep her away from the Def Jam co-founder. With hindsight, she believes her friend was trying to protect her. Russell has now responded, but his rebuttal focuses almost entirely on one detail of how old Kimora was when they met.

In her new Lifetime documentary, Kimora Lee: On Her Own, Lee recalls Simmons repeatedly showing up at her fashion shows before sending flowers and calling her. She told People that Banks once kept her at her apartment for an entire weekend so she could not go home and check her voicemail. At the time, Lee interpreted that interference as jealousy. “I thought she was a little bit hating,” she said. “She was trying to protect me.”

Lee says she was 16 when she met Simmons and that he was 18 years older. She now views their relationship much more critically, telling People that she did not fully recognize what she describes as abusive behavior until later. Simmons has denied allegations of abuse against him.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Neighborhood Talk (@theneighborhoodtalk)

A spokesperson for Simmons challenged Lee’s account in a statement. According to the representative, the two first met at a Mary McFadden fashion show in February 1993. Because Lee was born May 4, 1975, the spokesperson argues she would have been 17 years and nine months old then, not 16.

The statement also points to older profiles about their relationship. A 2004 Observer profile described Lee as 17 when Simmons first noticed her on the runway. His representative also cited a 2005 Vanity Fair interview in which Lee said, “We didn’t do anything until I was 18.” Simmons’ spokesperson added, “I hope this clears up any misunderstanding.”

That response does not challenge Lee’s account of Banks trying to keep her away from him. It also does not address her newer claims about the marriage itself. Instead, Simmons is disputing whether she was 16 or nearly 18 when the pursuit began. Lee and Simmons later married in 1998, separated in 2006, and finalized their divorce in 2009.