Kim Kardashian has sparked backlash after suggesting she isn’t responsible for contributing to an unrealistic beauty standard because her looks are “attainable”.
The Kardashians star, 41, spoke candidly about the effort, time and commitment that goes into her appearance in a new interview with Allure, where she revealed that she gets laser treatments done at night after her family goes to bed and would even consider eating “poop” if it would make her look younger.
However, when asked whether she ever feels “guilty” or “responsible” about her role in influencing the standard of beauty, which is largely unachievable without her immense wealth, the billionaire business mogul denied that the standard she’s set is “unattainable”.
“If I’m doing it, it’s attainable,” the Skims founder said, before claiming that, unlike when she “was a teenager,” there are “so many different beauty standards” now.
Kardashian then referenced her own “mentality,” which she said has never been to look up to those on TV or in magazines, but rather to “be yourself” and “find beauty in everything”.
On social media, the Skkn by Kim founder’s comments have been met with criticism, with many accusing Kardashian of “delusion” for alleging that the standard she has created is “attainable” or accessible without her wealth and privilege.
“If I’m doing it, it’s attainable” - @KimKardashian has the same delusion as people who say everyone in this country has ‘access’ to healthcare. Nothing is attainable if you need to be absurdly wealthy to gain access to or actually attain it. Pure narcissistic delusion,” one person wrote.
Beauty critic Jessica DeFino also condemned the comments, and the rest of Kardashian’s Allure interview, in a lengthy Twitter thread, in which she shared excerpts and claimed “publishing sh*t like this is so damaging and irresponsible”. “None of this is normal or okay,” DeFino wrote, before questioning the “journalistic integrity” of the article while noting that beauty standards are “associated with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, facial and body dysmorphia, self-harm, suicide, addiction, not to mention the physical harms of surgeries, procedures, and products”.
The thread prompted a response from one individual, who claimed that Kardashian’s quote about her beauty being attainable “literally makes [her] seethe”. “She is Kim Kardashian,” she added.
In response to that comment, DeFino also alleged that the standard isn’t “attainable” for Kardashian either. “It’s not ‘attainable’ for her either! When I worked on Kim’s app we employed a full-time Photoshop artist and nearly every photo of her was edited before publishing,” she claimed.
“A wealthy person saying hundreds of thousands of dollars in procedures and products is ‘attainable’ is laughable. In a sad, laughing and crying while society burns sort of way,” someone else tweeted.
The criticism also extended to Instagram, where many users accused Kardashian of being “tone-deaf” with her comments.
“Attainable if you have endless cash. She’s so tone-deaf it’s pitiful,” one person commented under Allure’s post, while another said: “‘If I’m doing it, it’s attainable.’ Jesus - that is the most out-of-touch statement she may have ever uttered. It isn’t attainable for all girls and women, especially without surgery, other non-invasive cosmetic procedures such as lasers, and hired help.”
Elsewhere in the interview, which began with Kardashian offering cosmetic procedure suggestions to the interviewer, the reality star claimed that, although she is “at peace,” she would “still do anything to look and feel youthful”.
The mother-of-four’s comments come after she recently admitted that her new nine-step skincare line, which retails for $630, is not for everybody as it is “more prestige”.
“It’s definitely more prestige, and in order to get the types of ingredients that I would not really miss out on, it was kind of a necessity,” she recently told The New York Times regarding the suggestion that many people will not be able to afford Skkn by Kim.
The Independent has contacted Allure for comment.
