Oop! Russell Simmons is clapping back after his ex-wife Kimora Lee recently opened up about relaunching the Baby Phat brand. She claimed she doesn’t believe she owned enough of the company in the early days, and she revealed how she only made a fraction of the sale: $20 million.
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Baby Phat first launched in 1999 and in 2004 it sold for a reported $140 million, a value reported by The New York Times. In January 2004, the Times reported that The Kellwood Company, one of the country’s largest clothing producers, bought Phat Fashions, a clothing business co-founded by Russell Simmons, for $140 million, plus performance incentives.
The Phat Fashions sale included the men’s clothing line Phat Farm and the women’s clothing line Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons. By 2010, Baby Phat ceased operations, per Vogue. However, in 2019, Kimora Lee reacquired the brand. In September 2023, she then officially relaunched the iconic 2000s brand.
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Kimora Lee Says She Didn’t Own Enough Of Baby Phat And Only Made $20M From Reported $140M Sale
Over two years later, Kimora Lee, 50, opened up about her Baby Phat relaunch and some of the business moves she encountered in the early 2000s. During the April 7 episode of Emma Grede’s ‘Aspire’ podcast, Kimora Lee was asked if she owned a piece of the business, Kimora Lee said, “Yes, of course. Yes. It was the smallest piece of the business.”
And when asked if she owned enough of the brand given her contributions over the years, Lee frankly said, “No. No, definitely not. And that’s one of the things were you live and you learn.” She continued:
“I probably made — I think we ended up selling — I think we built that company up and sold it for 100-and-something million dollars. I probably got $20 million of that, or less. Out of 100-and-something million dollars. And the entire sale was based on Baby Phat. Which you could look at the date, because when we sold it, Phat Farm was obsolete. It was still there, but that was not what you were selling it for. You were selling it for Baby Phat.
I only learned this because people would tell me, ‘Oh, you have to come to work today. We’re having this meeting with these bankers. We’re gonna sell it. And I’m like, a little confused, but a little excited.
[Going back,] I missed all of the preliminary conversations [about the sale]. I missed all of the conversations about how great the brand was, all of the numbers that were turned in, all of the numbers on the business. [It wasn’t] that I wasn’t paying attention, I wasn’t privy to the fact that these business [meetings] took place.”
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Russell Simmons Claps Back At Kimora Lee Claiming She Didn’t Own Enough Of Baby Phat And Only Made $20M From Reported $140M Sale
On Saturday (April 11), Russell Simmons reacted to a headline that read, “Kimora Lee Simmons Admits She Didn’t Own Enough Of Her Legendary Brand, ‘Baby Phat,’ Which Reportedly Sold For $140 Million. Lee Simmons Claims Her Cut Was $20 Million Or Less: ‘You Live And You Learn.’”
While taking to his account on Threads, Russell wrote, “She’s right. She didn’t own any. I gave her the brand which ALREADY EXISTED. I gave designers, support, fame, and at the end, money. Stop playing w/me. This was pure generosity and love❤️.”
In a seconds post, he continued, “I gave her the brand, which already existed. I put her in Baby Phat leather shorts the day we met. I found designers / made her famous and marketed the brand with her face. Eventually, she learned and blossomed. She did a good job ❤️ BUT NOTE .. Very generous of me❤️.”
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