- Kimora Lee Simmons and Russell Simmons’ 16-year-old daughter, Aoki Lee Simmons, got accepted to Harvard University and revealed the news with an emotional video.
- In the Instagram caption, Aoki said that her mother told her: “Thank god you got in on your own honey ‘cause you can’t row.”
- The comment was seemingly a reference to the college admissions scandal, in which Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman were among several wealthy individuals who were accused of paying bribes to secure spots for their kids at elite colleges.
- In an additional video shared on Aoki’s Instagram story, Kimora said: “I’m glad you did this on your own merit.”
Kimora Lee Simmons and Russell Simmons’ 16-year-old daughter, Aoki Lee Simmons, got accepted into Harvard University, and her model mother appears to be joking about the college admissions scandal.
“I’m only 16 and I’m going to Harvard baby! Insert emotional crying face,” Aoki captioned an Instagram post that showed her reading her college acceptance letter on a laptop. She also included a quote from Kimora Lee, who said: “Thank god you got in on your own honey ‘cause you can’t row.”
http://instagr.am/p/BvkmFVFl9YN
Kimora also posted the videos on her Instagram as well, and added that her daughter got into “Dartmouth, Vassar, Barnard, etc.” as well.
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In additional videos shared on Aoki's Instagram story, Kimora said: "I'm glad you did this on your own merit, you are super smart and you can do everything and anything you want to do."
The designer also added that her daughter's soccer skills are "minimum" and although she's "really good" at volleyball, she's glad that Aoki's intelligence got her into the university.
"This is the way to go, with your brain," Kimora said. "Nobody can take that away from you."
Kimora's comments were seemingly in reference to the college admissions scheme, in which the actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman were among several wealthy individuals who were accused of paying bribes to secure spots for their kids at elite colleges.
Read more: Here's the full list of people charged in the college-admissions cheating scandal
Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli were accused of agreeing to pay $500,000 in bribes in order for their influencer daughter Olivia Jade and her older sister, Isabella Rose Giannulli, to get into the University of Southern California.
Specifically, a criminal complaint accused the "Full House" star and her husband of agreeing to pay bribes "in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team - despite the fact that they did not participate in crew - thereby facilitating their admission to USC."
Authorities also said that some parents paid to have their children's SAT and ACT exams taken for them or have their answers corrected. Investigators said that the kids' heads were edited onto stock photos of athletes to improve their chances of getting into elite schools.
Kimora isn't the only celebrity to comment on the scheme. Recently, Dr. Dre shared a now-deleted photo saying that his daughter, Truly Young, was accepted into the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Art "on her own."
After being reminded that he and his business partner, Jimmy Iovine, donated $70 million to the school in 2013, the post disappeared from his social media account.
Although it's difficult to prove that large donations are a direct connection to college acceptances, there have been proven cases where donations have helped sway the admissions process at elite schools.
A representative for Dr. Dre didn't immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.
- Read more about the college admissions scandal:
- USC's campus newspaper is chastising school administrators for offering 'flimsy solutions and weak promises' in the wake of college admissions scandal
- Julia Roberts weighs in on the college admissions scandal, saying parents' lack of faith in their kids is 'so sad'
- USC is barring students linked to the college admissions scandal from registering for classes
- 20 percent of Americans think the kids who benefited from the college admissions scandal should be expelled