Kim Kardashian is throwing her daughter under the bus for the second time?
The KarJenners and cultural appropriation accusations go hand in hand. More frequently and more specifically, they’ve all been accused of Blackfishing over and over throughout the years. Kim has often been at the center of these accusations, not only because she was married to a Black cultural icon (Kanye West), but even before that, because she was the most prominent member of the family.
Related: Kim Is DONE With Kanye, Says ‘No Counseling’ Can Save Marriage
In a new interview with i-D, the reality star was asked about her history of Blackfishing backlash. She responded:
“Obviously, I would never do anything to appropriate any culture. 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.’ But I also want her to feel that I can do a hairstyle with her and not make it that big of a deal either if that’s something that she’s really asking for, and really wants.”
Shockingly, this is not the first time Kimmy has pinned her own mistake onto her kid — she blamed North for her braids back in 2018.
She continued:
“But I’ve learned and grown over the years, and figured out good ways to communicate with all my kids about all this. I’ve definitely learned over time, and I’ve tried to pass that culture of learning onto my kids too, but then there’s also a history of braiding hair in Armenia, and people forget that I am Armenian as well.”
Girl, no one who keeps up with the Kardashians forgets you’re Armenian! But that doesn’t make you not white.
Further, hiding behind North in regards to criticism embodies what writer Allison P. Davis observed for Vulture back in April, that the KarJenners’ “relationships with Black men, and the multiracial children they had with them, [seem] to offer some sort of cultural cover for their appropriation.”
Not to mention, the hair braiding issue is not the first time she faced cultural appropriation or Blackfishing backlash. She even addressed one of those instances in the i-D interview. She claimed she was “paying homage” to Japanese culture by naming her shapewear brand “Kimono” and that she would “never intentionally try to appropriate the culture in that way.” So even though she did change the name to SKIMS, it appears she still doesn’t see what was wrong with sticking a traditional Japanese term on a completely unrelated American product just “because it was a play on my name.”
Returning to the Blackfishing problem, though, the 41-year-old has been labeled a “culture vulture” of Black styles and imagery since long before North was born, and in many instances that she couldn’t possibly point fingers at her daughter.
Related: Kylie Jenner Is Accused Of Cultural Appropriation… Again…
For instance, her infamous 2014 “Break the Internet” Paper shoot, which was a direct recreation of photographer Jean-Paul Goude’s depiction of a black nude model from his 1982 book, shockingly titled Jungle Fever. It also drew comparisons to Saartjie “Sarah” Baartman (referred to as “Hottentot Venus”), a Black South African woman who was exploited and exhibited throughout Europe in the 19th century because of her prominent rear end.
Kim has also been accused of actual Blackface by darkening her skin with makeup or intense tanning. This issue has been brought up several times throughout her career, including in 2020 when she told fans not to “judge” her for her “pale hand” — which appeared in an Instagram Story several shades lighter than her face.
sorry for being white * https://t.co/E7Mb0XM8Te
— ︎JAYVERSACE (@JAYVERSACE) April 30, 2020
Essentially, to reduce the Blackfishing criticism to a couple times that she wore braids is completely dismissive, and blaming it on North is a pretty slimy deflection. This isn’t an accurate or thoughtful response from Kim. As someone who is moving into the social justice space after profiting off this imagery for years, we wish she would step up and do better.
[Image via Kim Karadshian/Instagram & Adriana M. Barraza/WENN]
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