Kim Kardashian has responded to claims that she wore blackface in a promotional photo for her new makeup line.
In an interview with the New York Times, Kardashian addressed criticisms that came her way after she posted a photo previewing her new contour kit for makeup line KKW Beauty. The backlash is ostensibly because Kardashian used a darker tone in the photo and many called her out for trying to appropriate black culture—an accusation her family is no stranger to.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVVJLRUlB01/?taken-by=kimkardashian
Kardashian told the NYT it didn’t raise any red flags, but that she understands why people might be upset:
I would obviously never want to offend anyone. I used an amazing photographer and a team of people. I was really tan when we shot the images, and it might be that the contrast was off. But I showed the image to many people, to many in the business. No one brought that to our attention. No one mentioned it.
Of course, I have the utmost respect for why people might feel the way they did. But we made the necessary changes to that photo and the rest of the photos. We saw the problem, and we adapted and changed right away. Definitely I have learned from it.
The photo is now her Twitter icon.
In further cultural appropriation news, she’s also selling a fidget spinner.
H/T New York Times