Here's Why Kim Kardashian's New 'Vogue' Photos Are Being Accused of 'Blackfishing'

After Kim Kardashian’s March 2022 Vogue cover was released on Wednesday, there was a conversation around the photo concept for the shoot because many of the images look very familiar. It was the Instagram account Diet Prada who first pointed out that there was a lot of inspiration drawn from many of supermodel Naomi Campbell’s looks, which then led to the ongoing debate about the SKIMS founder and blackfishing.

The term blackfishing, credited to journalist Wanna Thompson, refers to people, often public figures, who change their looks through makeup, tanning, or cosmetic surgery to appear to be Black or of mixed race. Judging from the side-by-side comparison images that Diet Prada posted (see them HERE), it’s going to be hard for Kardashian to defend herself because the evidence is pretty damning. The fashion accountability site also wrote a telling caption, “Kim and Vogue said “Black History Month.” And apparently Campbell agrees with this assessment because she liked the post via her Instagram account.

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Kardashian addressed the cultural appropriation criticism last year, but she downplayed the accusations by drawing daughter North into the debate. “Obviously, I would never do anything to appropriate any culture,” she told i-D magazine. “But I have, in the past, got backlash from putting my hair in braids and I understand that. Honestly, a lot of the time it comes from my daughter asking us to do matching hair and I’ve had these conversations with her that are like, ‘Hey, maybe this hairstyle would be better on you and not on me.’”

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As an influencer, she needs to realize that her fashion choices have a major impact on societal trends, especially as a parent to four children who have a white mother and a Black father. By appropriating the culture of others in a major magazine, it continues to send a tone-deaf message that shows that her ongoing education is still… ongoing. In 2014, she admitted on her blog, via ABC News, that she “never really gave racism or discrimination a lot of thought” until she had her daughter North. “I guess it was easier for me to believe that it was someone else’s battle,” she added. That mindset is still coming into play and Campbell is subtly calling her out on it, but it’s time Kardashian realizes that the images she puts out there can have a negative impact.

Before you go, click here to see celebrity women of color share the first movie or TV character who made them feel seen.

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