Listen up mad dads… here’s something you don’t hear everyday: Unlike some fathers, Russell Simmons “very happily” pays child support.
No kidding.
Despite various news publications making it sound as though he’s being forced to pay out huge sums of cash in child support, rap mogul Russell Simmons insists he “very happily volunteered” to fork over the dough.
Simmons set the record straight on his divorce settlement yesterday. In an online message to fans the music tycoon says that he wasn’t “ordered” to pay $40,000 a month in child support payments to his daughters Ming, 9, and Aoki, 6, rather he says he wants his children to have the money.
“I am reading these stories about how a judge ordered me to pay Kimora $40,000 a month in child support and I want to make something very clear. Nothing was ordered, it was given,” Simmons wrote on his personal website Friday.
Kimora is Simmons ex-wife, who is currently pregnant with her actor boyfriend, Djimon Hounsou’s child. The Def Jam co-founder and his former wife split last year after 10 years of marriage.
Earlier this week the Simmons’ divorce decree was made public. Court documents reveal that the girls will remain with their mother, who was granted sole legal and physical custody of Ming and Aoki. The divorce papers also show that Simmons agreed to pay child support for his daughters until they turn 19. In addition, Simmons agreed to provide a new car, worth at least $60,000, for the children’s use, until they turn 16. According to court documents, the car will be replaced every three years.
It’s not an agreement most fathers would willingly enter into, but then again, this is Russell Simmons were talking about. On his website the generous father reiterated that he was not forced into providing for his young daughters:
“My kids have a fabulous life; they are exposed to a broad range of artistic and scholastic educational programs and I’m very happy to contribute to that. As long as I have it, they can have it. If I ever don’t have it, I’m coming to live with them!”
I get that Simmons loves his daughters and is happy to share his wealth with him. What I find interesting is the fact that he gave up sole legal custody of his girls and allowed them to move to L.A. from New York to live with their mother, who just happens to be carrying another man’s child.
According to reports, the divorce decree includes a meticulous, seven-page agreement spelling out Simmons’s visitation rights. It gives him access to the girls every eighth week during their school year and on various holidays.
And here’s another interesting tidbit: According to court documents, “When the children are in [Simmons’s] custody, they shall be accompanied at all times by a nanny and security person.”
I’m sure there’s more to this divorce decree than meets the eye, but to unassuming fans it appears that Simmons is more interested in sharing his wealth with his daughters than his time.
What do you make of this unique divorce settlement?