Kim Kardashian Faces Blackface Backlash for Her Latest Photoshoot
Kim Kardashian has come under fire for a recent magazine cover shoot where she appears to have used skin-darkening makeup.
Yesterday, December 19, 7Hollywood, a biannual fashion publication, unveiled the cover of its Winter 2020, starring Kim in an Elizabeth Taylor–themed spread. Kim, dressed in a sequin black dress with pearl accessories, lays across a white bed in the photo. But, as many quickly pointed out, Kim's skin color appears much darker on the pics, which some are calling out as a case of blackface.\
Popular fashion page Diet Prada were among the first to do so. Soon after the cover was unveiled, Diet Prada reposted the photo on their Instagram asking what their followers thought of the situation — and the post recently loads of reactions.
"Blackface af. stop giving people the benefit of the doubt. they ain’t deserve it!!" wrote one commenter. "What in the fake melanin lol," another said. Others, however, said it appeared to be more of a mix between fake tan and Kim's Armenian roots. "This is not blackface at all. Maybe a lot of tanning, but def not blackface," wrote one user. Another added, "She looked even more tanned than this in those swimsuit pics of her at age 15/16 though?"
Others pointed out that the publication may be to blame here. "is it her fault tho? she didn’t edit the photos," one user questioned. The publication likely edited and retouched the photo, after all, which is customary on most covers, so it is possible that through that editing process, Kim's skin color and features could have been made to resemble that of Black women.
On Twitter, people also had mixed feelings about the shoot. “Y'all really finna let Kim Kardashian cosplay as a black woman for the rest of her life and not say nothing huh?” one person commented. “Sigh. No this is not blackface. It’s also not cultural appropriation. And while there is something to be said about double standards when it comes to the acceptance/reverence of Blackness in mainstream media, this is misdirected anger at its finest,” another one said.
Regardless of what you call it, and as some pointed out, if you have to do a double take to even recognize the person, it probably shouldn’t be done. Everyone is to blame for this shoot, blackface and appropriation of any kind are serious offenses that those committing must take responsibility for. “I didn’t recognize Kim Kardashian, and I guess that was the point. Negative or positive press is still press. But truly, this is really gross that she’s normalizing blackface for young kids to follow suit. Kim pretends to be a role model and then she reminds us that she isn’t,” some also pointed out.
This isn't the first time Kim has been wrapped in a scandal of this nature. In fact, there have been numerous times in recent years when Kim has been called out for the same issue, like in a 2017 KKW Beauty campaign. “The thing with Kim Kardashian and her family’s tireless history of cultural appropriation and Blackfishing is that she knows better. They know better. But they continue to do this because they know outrage sells. They’re able to keep their name relevant by doing things like THIS,” another person stated.
At the time of writing, neither Kim nor 7Hollywood have commented on the matter. Teen Vogue has reached out to 7Hollywood for comment.
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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
