16 Times Celebs Thought They Were Being Relatable But Actually Came Off As Pretty Darn Out-Of-Touch

In the days before social media, magazine articles with headlines like "Celebrities, they're just like us!" tried to convince us that the people on the covers aren't so different from the rest of us.

These days, however, the celebs themselves are the ones claiming they're "just like us" on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. TBH, their attempts at being relatable are only successful when they're authentic, like Julia Fox's apartment tour. Other times, they come across as fake as a TikTok designer "dupe."

Here are 16 times very wealthy celebs tried and failed to be relatable to us average folks:

1.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: In 2023, pictures of Kim Kardashian celebrating St. Patrick's Day by pub hopping in London with her friends went viral. Fans praised her for seeming to embrace the typical night out an average Londoner would enjoy.

BACK TO REALITY: Another photo that a fellow pub patron posted from Kim's night out revealed that she was actually filming for her Hulu show, The Kardashians.

2.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: Following her divorce from Kris Humphries, her husband of 72 days, Kim Kardashian told the Guardian, "We had been done filming our season at that point, so we decided to film for the wedding. And that was a decision that he and I made together. But I think that, with any decisions in life, like, I spoke to a girl today who had cancer, and we were talking about how this is such a hard thing for her, but it taught her a big lesson on who her friends are and so much about life. She's 18. And I was like, that's how I feel."

BACK TO REALITY: She was called out for seemingly comparing her divorce to surviving cancer.

On her website, Kardashian claimed that her words had been taken out of context. She wrote, "In no way was I comparing my own experiences to that of a cancer patient. I was merely talking about how there are times in your life, and everyone goes through them, when you find out who loves you enough to stand by you through thick and thin."

She continued, "This is a disease that has brought so much pain and heartache to our family, and I would never want to offend or upset anyone who was battling cancer, or whose family members were battling or had passed away from cancer. What I said in the interview was misconstrued, and I wanted to explain to you all what the context was around my phone call with this girl."

3.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: In 2022, Kim Kardashian shared her "advice for women in business" with Variety. She said, "Get your fucking ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days."

BACK TO REALITY: A clip of the interview got absolutely ratioed on Twitter as people pointed out the many advantages that Kardashian has over many other woman in business. On the full-length YouTube video, commenters express similar thoughts.

4.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: In a 2022 episode of The Kardashians, Kris Jenner asked her daughter, Kendall, if she'd like the chef to make her a snack. Kendall replied, "I'm making it myself. I'm just gonna chop up some cucumber. It's pretty easy." She then proceeded to cut the cucumber as if it was her first time.

BACK TO REALITY: The viral moment sparked a conversation on wealth and privilege.

But the model took it in stride, treating it as a joke. She even turned the moment into her Halloween costume.

5.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: On her Instagram stories, Kylie Jenner shared that her daughter, Stormi Webster, wanted to ride a school bus. So, Travis Scott, Stormi's dad, bought her one.

BACK TO REALITY: Fans criticized the gift as "middle class cosplay."

6.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: On another episode of The Kardashians that aired two weeks later, Kylie Jenner told her mom, Kris, "I just want to do normal things with you." Then they went to the grocery store together because Kylie said it would be "good for [the] soul." Afterwards, they went through the car wash, which Kris compared to Disneyland.

BACK TO REALITY: Viewers called them out for being so out-of-touch.

7.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: Similarly, in 2022, Travis and Kourtney Kardashian Barker staged a photoshoot at a truck stop.

BACK TO REALITY: In the comments, they also faced criticism for being out of touch.

8.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: Looking back on an outfit she wore to the 2021 Cannes Film Festival with Vogue, Bella Hadid said, "I never, growing up, had anything designer. My mom wouldn't let me. I think I got my first pair of Louboutins when I graduated high school. It makes me emotional actually, because I'm so happy in this picture, for the first time in my whole adult life...I feel so good about myself, I felt beautiful...compared to [my younger self]; she was so sad, and [current me] is so content and happy."

BACK TO REALITY: Fans pointed out that, as the daughter of real estate developer Mohamed Hadid and model/reality star Yolanda Hadid, Bella grew up wealthy. As a kid, she lived in an $85 million mansion her dad had built for the family. They also brought up the fact that there is a difference between not being able to afford designer clothes and not being allowed to buy them.

9.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: In 2015, Gwyneth Paltrow participated in the "food stamps challenge," showing the groceries she purchased for the rough equivalent of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

BACK TO REALITY: The actor was criticized on two fronts: (1) her grocery store haul was "not completely realistic for a Snap recipient," and (2) for many Snap recipients, these benefits are "not all they have for food."

The Capital Area Food Bank of Texas's senior director of advocacy and public policy, Kathy Green, told the Guardian, "A lot of [recipients] are working, so they have an income, and they come to our food pantry. In the majority of cases, they are piecing together different vehicles for food...[But] I don't know if what she bought is very representative of what they would normally buy. ... Produce is wonderful, but in comparison to what they can get for their dollar, a lot of them turn to more shelf-stable processed food."

10.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: On a 2022 episode on her podcast Anything Goes, Emma Chamberlain compared her self-employment to having a 9-5. She said, "Because you're an employee of somebody else, mentally, it's easier for you to disconnect after work so that you can enjoy all of your free time to the fullest without having to think about your job. Whereas, when you're self-employed...you never stop thinking about it. You never get to disconnect. You never get to be like, 'Oh, I'm done for now.' It is so hard."

BACK TO REALITY: On Reddit, fans pointed out that the reality of an average 9-5 employee is quite a bit different than the life Chamberlain leads as a self-employed influencer.

11.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: In 2019, Chrissy Teigen tweeted a joke about her mom constantly losing her AirPods.

BACK TO REALITY: Following backlash to how she trivialized the $159 earbuds, she apologized for how "icky" it came across.

In a follow-up tweet, she added, "I promise I will not always say the right thing in the right way, but I also promise I hate disappointing or pissing you guys off. I'm sorry, and I will do better to not be such an asshole."

12.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: In 2020, Jennifer Lopez insisted that the secret to her smooth, glowy skin was olive oil. She told Page Six, "It's a secret I've used over the years because it really does work." She also added that wearing sunscreen and moisturizing is important to maintaining "that J.Lo glow."

BACK TO REALITY: Three years later, TikToker @NeedTheDeets pointed out a seeming filter glitch in Lopez's promotional post for SportWater. It appeared to show her "real skin texture."

13.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: During a 2016 visit to The Graham Norton Show, Jennifer Lawrence talked about scratching her butt on rocks that native Hawaiians consider sacred while filming The Hunger Games. Framing it as a quirky anecdote, she said, "I dunno, [the rocks] were ancestors, who knows — they were sacred. And you're not supposed to sit on them, because you're not supposed to expose your genitalia to them. I, however, was in a wetsuit for this whole shoot – oh my god, they were so good for butt itching!"

She continued, "One rock that I was butt-scratchin' on came loose [causing a landslide]...and almost killed our sound guy...And all the Hawaiians were like, 'Oh my god, it's the curse!' And I'm in the corner going, 'I'm your curse. I wedged it loose with my ass.'"

BACK TO REALITY: She was called out for knowingly disrespecting Hawaiian culture.

Lawrence apologized on Facebook, writing, "I meant absolutely no disrespect to the Hawaiian people. I really thought that I was being self-deprecating about the fact that I was 'the curse,' but I understand the way it was perceived was not funny, and I apologize if I offended anyone."

14.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: In 2017, Ariana Grande captioned a since-deleted Instagram post, "When you're cute, but you're also the hardest working 23-year-old human being on earth #cute #butalso #CEO #haventsleptinyears."

BACK TO REALITY: On social media, she faced backlash from fans who pointed out that there are plenty of other 23-year-olds across the world who are "making 60 cents a day trying to provide for their families" and "working four jobs to stay in their tiny apartments."

15.TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: In a since-deleted Instagram video from March 2020, Madonna said, "What's terrible about [the coronavirus] is what's great about it. ... And what's wonderful about it is that it's made us all equal in many ways."

BACK TO REALITY: Online, people pointed out the irony of the pop star giving a speech about equality from her luxurious, rose petal-adorned bathtub.

16.And finally, TRYING TO BE RELATABLE: In 2022, Grimes told Vanity Fair that her partner Elon Musk "does not live like a billionaire" and "lives at times below the poverty line." She said, "To the point where I was like, 'Can we not live in a very insecure $40,000 house? Where the neighbors, like, film us, and there's no security, and I'm eating peanut butter for eight days in a row?'"

BACK TO REALITY: Both Grimes and Musk were criticized for being out-of-touch and so blatantly unaware of their privilege.