Kylie Jenner’s success graph is one for the books. While many still see her primarily as a socialite, the fact is that Kylie has managed to capitalise on the curiosity around her, building a thriving beauty business in record time. It is said that everything, especially fame, comes with a price. In the latest episode of The Kardashians In the episode, which aired on June 20, Kylie can be seen crying in front of her sister Kendall Jenner while she mentions how closely people scrutinize her physical appearance. “It’s a miracle that I still have confidence and I can still look in the mirror and I still think I’m beautiful,” the beauty mogul said. Though she admits to being “numb” in the face of constant negative opinions, she reasoned, “I think it does affect me.” Let’s take a look at some of Kylie’s top controversies.
When she used a wheelchair as a support
As false as this may sound, it is a very real phenomenon. For the December 2015 issue of Interview Magazine, Kylie was shown on the cover strapped to a wheelchair, with robot-like poses and expressions. Chris Wallace, senior editor at Interview Magazine at the time of the shoot, argued in a byte given to Mashable UK that the idea behind the photos was to portray Kylie “as someone who controls her image”.
Disbelief and outrage over the ‘aesthetic’ of the photoshoot soon followed, with Kylie being accused of being ‘ableist’ and repurposing a wheelchair for fashion.
Kylie ‘self-made’ billionaire
Forbes put Kylie Jenner at the forefront of its 2019 Spring edition and tagged her as the youngest ‘self-made billionaire’. Kylie being awarded this generous tag did not go down well with many on the internet, as her business success is largely attributed to the fame and public attention she has received since childhood, giving her an undeniable edge.
In fact, Kylie somewhat agreed to this in an interview with the New York Times. Although she admits she has managed her own finances since she doesn’t have any inherited money, she did acknowledge the fact that she had a lot of help along with having a huge platform to launch her products. Forbes also eventually addressed this backlash, clarifying that ‘self-made’ in their dictionary means someone who didn’t inherit some or all of their business. People still aren’t too convinced, though.
As tone-deaf as possible
Kylie turned 22 on August 10, 2019. To celebrate her birthday in her own unique way, she announced the launch of her next money-themed line. Immediately, many people began to judge Kylie for just trying to find ways to show off her money. However, a look at the names of some of the shades had the internet in an uproar over how absurd the new line was. For reference, some of the names of the shades were ‘Work For It’, ‘On a Budget’, and ‘Money Isn’t Everything’.
Actually a line from the 1996 film Swingers — “You’re so money baby”, repurposed as a marketing ploy to mean Kylie was taunting her followers for having ‘zero money’. This was because ‘so’ was written as ‘$0’.
Mink fur controversy
The ‘Black Summer’ or the deadly Australian bushfires that gripped the continent between 2019 and 2020 sparked appeals for help and donations on social media at the time, including from the general public as well as celebrities. Kylie was also one of the big names to draw attention to the devastating impact it had on Australian wildlife. However, any goodwill she might have garnered from this was wiped out by her Instagram story, where she can be seen flaunting Louis Vuitton’s mink fur slippers.
Reacting to the situation, one ex commented, “Kylie posts a story about the fire in AU then posts a story about her mink LV slippers, this is my favorite new definition of tone deaf”. Another added, “@kylie did not post about the animals being killed in that fire but only posted a picture in actual mink LV slippers”.
Kylie the ‘climate criminal’
In 2022, @CelebJets, an ex-account that tracks celebrity flight routes, revealed how Kylie had opted to take a 17-minute flight ride over California to avoid a 45-minute car drive on the roads. This unnecessary choice made by Kylie was criticized on the internet. However, the real concern in this situation was that she posted a photo of herself and then-partner, rapper Travis Scott, in front of her private jet, with the incredibly provocative caption “You want mine or yours?”.
What is the internet saying about Kylie Jenner’s recent breakdown?
The internet doesn’t seem to be in any mood to go easy on Kylie. While she is still being accused of being uncaring in her response, where she wants the public to give her some leeway, many are of the opinion that Kylie has only herself to blame when it comes to her troubles. One angry ex-user commented, “Kylie Jenner has been selling a distorted view of reality to teenage girls for 10 years with her diet teas and face/lip injections but now she’s crying over this??? This girl has made millions by destroying women’s self esteem and now we’re supposed to feel sorry for her??? NO!!!!”
Another added, “Maybe if she and her family didn’t spend decades maintaining unrealistic beauty standards she wouldn’t have these problems 🤷♂️”. Taking a more neutral stance, another X user commented, “Anyone who wants to be a celebrity at this point should sign a paper saying they know people will talk about them! You can’t have 400 million followers and expect every single one of them to like everything you do”.
Do you think the internet is being harsh on Kylie Jenner?
