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Kimora Lee Simmonsis proud of her daughter Aoki for following her passion.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE on Thursday,the mother of five, 47, revealed that she thinks it’s “absolutely absurd” that people criticized the20-year-old Harvard studentfor wanting to model despite getting an Ivy League education.
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She added, “If I’ve done it and I know it’s tough and I know it’s a little janky. Why would you want to do it? But we love an educated clumsy queen. She is an educated, clumsy queen.”
The fashion mogul, model and entrepreneur is supportive of her daughter balancing both school and her modeling career.
“We wish Aoki the best and she knows that. So whether it’s in front of the camera or behind the scenes, it doesn’t take away anymore. And I think she’s probably seen that with her mom,” she explained. “It doesn’t make you any more or less of a business person or any more or less of a student or a student of the world or any more or less than a model. It’s important to explore all your passions. "
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Earlier this month, Aokiresponded to criticismof her pursuing a modeling career while studying at Harvard.
OnTikTok, a fan commented on one of her videos, asking, “You’re so articulate and obviously educated .. how come u chose modeling?” Aoki took issue with the implication that someone can’t be both college-educated and a model and made avideoaddressing it.
“Well, one, models aren’t uneducated and not articulate, but two, I think what you’re really getting at is, ‘Why am I going into a field that doesn’t necessarily require a degree or require a whole lot of book smarts when I have a lot of education?'” Aoki said.
“Well, one, because I love it, and I think we should normalize liking something,” she continued. “You don’t have to do what you’re immediately good at.”
“You can be good at something and not want to do it forever, and you can be bad at something and still pursue it,” she said in her TikTok.
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“I really want us to move towards a future where young women aren’t being asked this question. Like, not being asked, ‘Why did you follow your more creative passion even though you’re smart?'” Aoki continued in her video, encouraging her viewers to choose to do the things they love.
“I would like to change the idea that you can’t be smart and pretty, or you can’t be smart and enjoy your looks or enjoy a creative, beauty- [and] fashion-based career. You can be two kinds of people in one person.”
source: people.com
