Last week Kim Kardashian announced the launch of her new makeup range, KKW Beauty, with this photo.
The image had clearly been heavily edited, and it didn't take long before people began suggesting that the darkening of her skin was culturally appropriative at best, and blackface at worst.
Black women get told to lighten meanwhile Kim spends her entire career in perpetual Black face and is lauded for he… https://t.co/ldSdQ8Gxgo
@KimKardashian you black now sis?
@Chanceyonce @Sacha_Wynters @KimKardashian not saying she's doing black face, but contour don't make ur entire complexion two shades darker
Kim kardashian is not committing blackface, & if you can’t tell the difference between promoting makeup for the tan… https://t.co/7Zku9hOC1V
@Sacha_Wynters @KimKardashian Do you know the difference between blackface and contour?
@kokwandu98 @kimyonceee @LanePiffin @KimKardashian I love Kim but that's def black face in the form of makeup she is no where near that dark
A few others even edited the image back to her natural skin tone.
@KimKardashian You dont have to do blackface
@KimKardashian hey it looks like your editor made a mistake, here's what you really look like (luv u tho!)
The next day, a new version of the image was posted on the official KKW Beauty Twitter account, in which Kim's skin was visibly lighter.
Créme Contour and Highlight Kit coming 6.21 #KKWBEAUTY
And now Kim has personally addressed the backlash.
Speaking to The New York Times, Kim said that she was "really tan" during the photoshoot, but the prospect of it being perceived as blackface didn't come up.
She said:
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.
Kim went on to say that she understood the criticism and immediately changed the imagery. She added that she's "learned" from the experience.
She explained:
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.
Phew, glad that's cleared up.
