Kim Kardashian did what she does best and managed to anger the entirety of the internet on Tuesday after posting a series of photos from her 40th birthday celebrations—which involved renting out a private island and taking her “closest inner circle” (maybe 20 or so people) there to celebrate her big 4-0. As we’re in the middle of a deadly global pandemic that has forced many of us to spend the last 7-8 months quarantining indoors, led to countless people losing jobs and work, and killed over 200,000 people, folks were understandably irritated at Kim’s wildly tone-deaf post about her luxurious birthday celebration.
Some of the most cringe-worthy quotes from the caption include:
“After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time.”
Ah, the luxury of pretending things are normal.... I wonder what that’s like.
“We danced, rode bikes, swam near whales, kayaked, watched a movie on the beach and so much more. I realize that for most people, this is something that is so far out of reach right now, so in moments like these, I am humbly reminded of how privileged my life is. #thisis40”
Kim, honey, the rest of us knew you were privileged long before a global pandemic arrived. The most absurd part of all of this is that if Kim had restrained herself and just not posted photos of her large party of family and friends on the private island she rented out, no one would have ever known just how egregiously wealthy her celebration was.
Is this the latest step in our collective disillusionment with the cult of celebrity? I, for one, hope so. To paraphrase a truly iconic KUTWK quote: Kim, would you stop taking pictures of yourself—hundreds of thousands of people are literally dying. [Page Six]
Offset chimed in to defend his wife Cardi B after she responded to criticism from trolls online who claimed that her and rap group City Girls owning Birkin bags depreciated their value, saying “Black people having access to luxury shouldn’t be a debate.”
Although I have no particular investment in which hyper-wealthy people get to own which luxury bags that cost more than I will likely make in my entire career, it’s a misnomer (and a racist dog whistle) to claim that certain Black women rappers owning luxury handbags lessens their value. In fact, there’s a plethora of evidence showing the opposite is true—that associations with popular rappers has actually boosted both the value and the name recognition of a number of luxury fashion brands.
Cardi made that argument herself, saying that after she referenced Balenciagas in her track “I Like It Like That,” the brand actually saw a spike in sales. [Us Weekly!]