Kylie Jenner Broke Her Silence on the Makeup Artist GoFundMe Outrage and Twitter Was Not Impressed

Alyssa Bailey
·5 min read
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From ELLE

Near-billionaire Kylie Jenner sparked controversy this week when she donated $5,000 to a GoFundMe for makeup artist Sam Rauda’s medical expense fund then put his GoFundMe page in her Instagram Story to encourage her fans to donate their own money to him.

Rauda, his family wrote on his GoFundMe page, "underwent major surgery on Sunday" after getting into an accident over the weekend. The money donated will be used to cover his medical bills and the expenses that come as he recovers. The family is currently seeking $120,000 and have so far raised a little over $100,000.

Amid tweets and media outlets calling out Jenner's small donation despite her great net worth, Jenner broke her silence on the controversy late afternoon Monday on her Instagram Story. She specified that Rauda is not her makeup artist, they don't have a personal relationship currently, but they've worked together in the past, and "he's the sweetest." She called the "false narrative" and commentary around her actions "so twisted."

She wrote:

I feel it’s important for me to clear up this false narrative that I’ve asked fans for money and am not paying for my makeup artist’s medical bills.

Sam isn’t my makeup artist and unfortunately we don’t have a personal relationship anymore but I have worked with him a few years ago and think he’s the sweetest. I saw my current makeup artist and friend Ariel post about Sam’s accident and his family’s gofundme and I called Ariel immediately to see what happened to Sam. After learning in more detail about the accident it compelled me to visit his gofundme which was set at 10k. They had already raised 6k so I put it in 5k to reach their original goal and thought I’d post on my stories to gain more awareness if anyone also felt compelled the share or donate. I don’t know how all of this got so twisted but his family has reached out through Ariel and are very appreciative of all the donations, prayers, and love towards Sam.

Anyone that knows me knows that I do things from the heart and I try to be helpful whenever I can be. Let’s all stay positive and keep Sam, his family, and anyone you know who is going through a difficult time in our prayers. I hope you have a beautiful day and let’s encourage each other to help.

Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram
Photo credit: Instagram

Here's why the narrative got so twisted: Given Jenner's insane personal wealth and the many communities in need right now amid the coronavirus pandemic and increased violence toward the AAPI community, people on social media were not impressed with Jenner's decision to encourage her non-wealthy fans to spend their money instead of just giving the family a more substantial donation than $5k on her own.

Some were upset because the way Jenner spends money on luxury items and services is regularly displayed on her Instagram. Page Six, for instance, pointed out that Jenner spent an estimated $50,000 to fly her sister Kendall Jenner to New York City this weekend on her $72 million private plane.

Even the outlet's source was salty about it, telling the outlet, “Kendall arrived on Kylie’s private jet on Saturday, then the plane went back to LA on Sunday evening. Kendall stayed on in New York. Maybe she could have stayed home and instead donated that money to Kylie’s makeup artist.”

Some on Twitter defended Jenner, pointing out that Rauda is just a friend of a friend, so why would she pay full medical costs? Others reacted with memes and general disappointment that Jenner doesn't understand why asking her fans to donate is being seen as tone deaf:

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