Khloe Kardashian has issued a response to critics who are questioning whether Tristan Thompson’s brother, who has special needs and suffers from epilepsy, consented to be featured on The Kardashians.
In the season three finale of the family’s Hulu reality show, the Good American founder revealed that her ex-boyfriend, Tristan Thompson, and his 17-year-old brother, Amari, moved in with her following the death of their mother, Andrea Thompson.
Kardashian explained that the brothers were temporarily living with her while the NBA player’s home was under construction.
“Tristan has a house that he’s doing construction on, he’s been renovating,” she said during a confessional interview. “He’s been able to live there during renovations. But we had crazy weather for California, like extreme rain, and Tristan’s roof caved in on his home and caused flooding. So Tristan and Amari are staying at my house right now, until his home gets fixed.”
During the episode, Kardashian shared that she wanted to support them during the difficult time, as her ex has since become his brother’s legal guardian. “Amari is 16, and he is severely disabled,” she shared in a confessional. “It’s just really sad, because we don’t know what he knows or doesn’t know, cognitively.”
Following The Kardashians season finale, which aired on Wednesday 26 July, the mother of two took to Instagram to wish Amari a happy birthday. “Someone is 17 today!!!! Happy birthday sweet sweet Amari!!! We are all so blessed to have been touched by an angel such as you,” she captioned the post. “You are truly one of God’s greatest treasures”.
Kardashian’s post included a photo of Amari posing with her and Tristan’s daughter, True; brother Rob Kardashian’s daughter, Dream; and mom Kris Jenner.
However, when one critic suggested that featuring Amari on the reality show and on social media was a violation of his “consent,” Kardashian took to the comments section to issue a response.
“He can’t even consent to being on camera and on the show. Not cool,” wrote one user.
Kardashian replied: “His mom was always so proud of her son and wanted him front and centre. Mind yours and I’ll mind mine thank you”.
When another user said, “Seriously questioning your rationale in posting this,” the reality star wrote back: “I’m seriously questioning your rationale in commenting. What’s the problem”.
Meanwhile, many fans praised Kardashian for taking in her ex-boyfriend and his brother.
“No Khloe slander shall be tolerated. She is truly a beautiful soul,” commented one fan, in response to the negative messages.
“Khloe, you’re such an angel. You are his guardian angel. He’s so blessed to have you,” another wrote.
“Khloe is my favourite,” said someone else. “She is such a genuinely sweet person no matter what someone has put her through. I just hope Tristan appreciates and doesn’t take advantage of her kindness!”
Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson have had an on-again, off-again relationship since 2016. Just days before their now five-year-old daughter’s birth, it was revealed in an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians that Thompson had cheated on Kardashian.
In January 2022, Thompson confirmed he fathered a son with fitness instructor Maralee Nichols after she issued a paternity lawsuit against the 32-year-old basketball star. The scandal emerged just one month after Kardashian and Thompson’s son was reportedly conceived. She welcomed her second child, son Tatum, via surrogate in July 2022.
Earlier this year, Kardashian broke her silence about Andrea’s death in a lengthy Instagram tribute. “I have been avoiding this,” she wrote. “Avoiding accepting this is real. I have so much to say but nothing at all… I have so many emotions and still I feel numb. Life can be brutally unfair at times and this has been one of the toughest times in so many of our lives.”
She expressed that her grief had been “so difficult” that she was “choosing not to say goodbye” to Andrea, as she wrote that “goodbyes for good are something” that she “doesn’t believe in”.
“I KNOW I will see you again. I know I will hear your sweet voice and infectious laugh again,” she wrote. “I’ll see you again with the many that have gone before you that I so desperately miss, love and cherish.”
She also made a reference to Andrea’s close relationship with her sons, adding: “At the same time, I know you never wanted to leave your boys. They are your entire world. They will learn to live with the hole in their hearts because they are warriors just like their warrior mommy.”
Elsewhere in The Kardashians season finale, Kardashian said it was important for her to be there for her ex, despite the way he treated her in the past.
“I’m grateful that I’m strong enough and brave enough to be a support system for someone else that has no other support system right now,” she said. “You don’t have to treat me right for me to treat you right, it’s not the way I was raised.”
“All you have is your family, and Tristan and I are going to be family for the rest of our lives,” she said.
In 2013, the NBA star founded The Amari Thompson Fund to help support children with epilepsy, a neurological disorder.
