Although the nepo-baby phenomenon has been a huge topic in recent times for Hollywood; however, Aoki Lee Simmons seems to be missing out on all the positives. The 22-year-old model took to Instagram to announce her exit from the modeling industry, citing unnecessary comparisons with her mother, Kimora Lee Simmons, as a significant factor.
Kimora is a runway model with at least 36 years of experience; like many Hollywood stars, her daughter Aoki Lee Simmons chose to follow in mommy’s footsteps. That decision is now being questioned by the young model who has decided to call it quits.
Aoki explained her distress about how she is constantly reminded she is not as pretty as her mother and can never be good at modeling like her mother. Aoki acknowledged that her mom will always be a better model than she is but described the constant reminder and comparison as “annoying.”
While Aoki admitted that modeling is a “hard industry” she mentioned her intention to “finish strong” like her mom, Kimora, wants. Although how she intends to wrap up her career wasn’t revealed, she did disclose that she would likely switch back to government work and use her degree in international relations.
Aoki Lee Simmons Previously Addressed Nepotism And Race
When Aoki graced the cover of Teen Vogue‘s September 2023 issue, she spoke on how being a nepo-baby is affected by race. In her words:
“What I have noticed, though, is that [nepotism] is not as much of a thing for models of color.”
Referencing Vulture’s list of nepo-baby models, She called attention to the apparent lack of people of color, saying:
“It was straight-up a white list. How is no one noticing that? I don’t think Nepotism functions the exact same way when you aren’t white. [Nepotism] is still a huge thing, but maybe the kids of [people of color] don’t get the same excessive hype immediately.”
As the daughter of a prominent model and a titan in hip-hop history, Aoki said, “People think I’m getting top secret information.” Still, the model claimed she didn’t exactly have modeling easy.
Aoki confessed that she had to work hard at modeling and quickly learn to manage her finances as her mum didn’t cover any of her modeling expenses. For her mother, if she couldn’t afford to fly herself out and find accommodations via her bookings, then she wasn’t a working model.
Aoki Lee Simmons’ revelation could be a testament to the fact that Nepotism is not all it is presumed to be.
