Kendall Jenner has trypophobia, a fear of small holes in weird patterns

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Kendall Jenner: the most boring Kardashian-Jenner? That’s a real question. I think Kourtney is the most boring of the entire clan, but Kendall is easily #2 most boring. Perhaps that’s by Kendall’s design – she might not be the brightest, but she knows that the key to getting consistent modeling work is to not double-down on the Kardashian shenanigans. Like, there was a “backlash” against Kendall’s appearance on the September cover of Vogue. And that backlash lost steam in a day because people just lost interest in complaining about Kendall. Maybe that’s the genius of Kendall Jenner: being boringly bland, insubstantial and uncontroversial.

Which brings me to this story. Kendall, like her sisters, has a paywalled subscription app and she posts essays, photos and videos. She has a 64-word “essay” this week about her “biggest phobia.” Her phobia is something I’ve never heard of before, and I can’t believe people are actually scared of it. It totally fits Kendall though. She wrote:

Anyone who knows me knows that I have really bad trypophobia. Trypophobics are afraid of tiny little holes that are in weird patterns. Things that could set me off are pancakes, honeycomb or lotus heads (the worst!). It sounds ridiculous but so many people actually have it! I can’t even look at little holes—it gives me the worst anxiety. Who knows what’s in there???
Love, Kendall

[Via New York Magazine]

“Who knows what’s in there???” SATAN!! No, um… I believe (I guess?) that Trypophobia is a real thing, but do you believe that Kendall really has this? Lotus heads are beautiful, honeycomb is beautiful and pancakes….? So, is just any weird pattern of holes? Is she scared of a weird fabric print that presents as “holes”? So many questions. Well, I guess this phobia isn’t boring. Boring and inoffensive would have been “I’m scared of public speaking” or “I’m scared of flying.” One shining point of uniqueness for Kendall: she’s scared of holes.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, Getty and WENN.

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112 Responses to “Kendall Jenner has trypophobia, a fear of small holes in weird patterns”

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  1. Melissa Melissa says:

    I have it too, I always feel nauseated when I see holes in weird patterns, especially tiny ones like I just did with the picture posted above.

    • OhDear says:

      Same here. I always have an urge to smash the little holes so that they become a big hole.

      • Amelia says:

        And me.
        Trypophobia is a legitimate and really frustrating phobia! Humanity’s lizard brain at its most disruptive.
        Science textbooks with microscopic scans are always a pot-luck of ‘will this next page make me squirm?’

      • arabella says:

        I have it too! Always have, glad there’s a name for it.

    • Natalie says:

      I’ve got this too. The worst is clickbait ads with the condition photo-shopped on a person’s face with a Buzzfeed-like caption, “You’ll never guess what people are afraid of!!!” Ugh. I have to position another browser window over the image just to be able to keep reading. My hands are itching just thinking about it.

      I didn’t have a mental image for lotus heads so I just googled it and now I hate myself. It’s nightmare fuel.

    • detritus says:

      OK, I thought I was crazy and alone for this one.
      The photoshop of lotus blossoms merged with nipples did me in, a photo went around many years ago and since then I can’t deal with electron microscope pictures of cell membranes, lotus flowers etc. They give me nausea and skin crawls.

      Honeycomb is cool though, because its nice and even. Can’t explain it.

      • Clara says:

        Oh my gosh this is the one that done it for me as well. Until I got that chain email I was fine, now it really makes me feel sick and repulsed!

      • Javagirl1 says:

        Yep! That’s why I hate Lotus flowers.

      • Somesmallway says:

        THIS! It started popping up on my feed so frequently that I had to give up FB for a bit to be sure I wouldn’t see it accidentally. Nowhere was safe! Come to think of it, it might not have been the worst thing ever. Maybe someone can just keep lying to me about it still being a thing. Think of all the spare time I’d get back!

      • Lilypad says:

        Are you talking about the “boob cocoon”? Years ago I saw a pic online with the little black holes on a boob..omg I’ve never been the same. That’s when I knew what it felt like to feel my skin crawling *shivers*. Legit traumatizing!

    • Miss b says:

      I also have this. My worst ones are lotus heads, cooking pancakes, and bones (the inside, where the marrow is).
      Ugh just typing this has made me anxious and uncomfortable.

      • HH says:

        I just googled “cooking pancakes”… UGH. I’ve never made them ( I don’t cook and I’m not a big breakfast food person), and I don’t think I ever will.

    • KB says:

      Me too. Honeycombs are the most disgusting, unsettling things ever. And anyone remember that old Plavix commercial with the animated blood platelets floating over a mound of them? Ugh…full body chills.

      It’s not a fear as much as it is a fear of it becoming an obsessive thought for me, I can’t get it out of my head and it grosses me out so much.

    • jessoutwest says:

      I do as well. I have to avert my eyes with any honeycomb images or even honeycomb bathroom tile. And I have to scroll really fast past any images of bunched holes. Otherwise I get anxiety to the point of nausea. Ick! Even thinking about it now makes me sick.

      • JustJen says:

        Yes!!! I never realized this was a thing, I thought I just had “issues”. I get nervous and have to look away when I see bunched up holes. Idk why.

      • Alison says:

        Me too! Fish scales make me panicky/nauseous as well. It’s not just holes, but it has to be a very specific mix of repeated patterns of a certain texture. (Shudder)

    • Anna says:

      Same!!! I first heard of the term a few years ago and googled it and I’ve been traumatized since tbh. I can’t unsee some of those hole pictures. If you google the term there are actually some pretty nasty things that come up. It sounds like a dumb thing to be scared of but its very real

    • anon says:

      Me too! I feel sick and a bit panicky, like there are things crawling on me or contaminating me (I know that sounds so dramatic)

    • hippiechk says:

      Me too. Sunflowers are the worst for me. The little holes where all the seeds come from. When I was a kid, there were sunflowers in the backyard of one of my good friends. Those things creeped me out, and I had no idea why. To this day I despise sunflowers.

    • Rhiley says:

      Me too. For example, Emma Stone’s purple dress that she wore on the red carpet recently, the one with the weird lace backing, made me feel like bugs were crawling on my skin. The back made me feel really nauseous. And I agree with Kendell, lotus are the worst. And it is weird because once I spot it, it is then hard for me to look away. I know I hate what I am doing but it is hard for me to turn away. Yuck! I am feeling icky just thinking about Emma Stone’s dress.

    • Michkat says:

      Okay I wonder what I have cause when I see all those hole and patterns I want to bite them and run my nails on them. Even destroy them…wtf is goin on with me!?

    • Mary Mary says:

      Does this mean you can’t eat Swiss cheese?

  2. LauraH says:

    Why does anyone care what she thinks about anything? The magazine, this website (no judgement), our readers. Why? She’s a vacuous model. She’s good at showing off clothes nicely sometimes. Nothing else to offer. Her sisters are sometimes entertaining but she is duller than my auntie Sandra who checks her cupboards for food past its sell by date every Tuesday and updates a record book. Stop interviewing this vacuous idiot.

  3. Felice. says:

    Yeah the Freddy Krueger and Hellraiser franchises really play into that phobia.

  4. HH says:

    SAME HERE! No judgement. I don’t have high adverse reactions, it just makes me feel weird and itchy. And I immediately have to look away. UGH! But it has to be in asymmetric patterns (or weird) patterns as she said. Honeycombs are fine Because they’re typically symmetrical. But those lotus heads make my skin CRAWL. UGHHHHH!

    • M.A.F. says:

      Yep. Lotus heads are the worse for me.

      • Mel says:

        Yep, the wooooooorst! it’s not fear/phobia it’s revulsion. To me these things remind me of some kind of terrible skin growth. I actually saw a dog once with some affliction beneath his skin that was just visible through a couple of holes that had formed. So WRONG! That to me is exactly what these sorts of things evoke. Makes me wonder if early humans commonly suffered some kind of infectious skin disease that some of us are still programmed to avoid. Like how certain smells/tastes we protectively find abhorrent.

      • Maria_ says:

        >< arghhhhhhh !!!

    • lvw2 says:

      I AM ITCHY THINKING ABOUT THIS. UGH

    • scarlettbo says:

      Count me in! Asymmetric patterns are fine but anything else…. even when I think of it I have to scratch myself.
      Please do yourself a favor and don’t Google “trypophobia” Pictures. This is hell!

    • Janetdr says:

      Weird. I just realized that I think a lot about the Suriname frog that has the holes in it’s back for the babies. I’m not freaked out by it, but I think about it and them coming out like popping zits. I did not know this was a thing and it seems related to this .

      • J.Mo says:

        I was trying to remember the name of this toad, just so I could make peoples’ skin crawl, Google it, I dare you! I have no aversion to the things described here.

  5. Shelly says:

    Why? Please tell me why?

  6. M.A.F. says:

    I have that fear. It makes my skin start to itch thinking about it.

  7. mayamae says:

    Phobias never make sense to others. I had a cousin with a phobia of rubberbands, especially when they were sitting in a pile. And I had a friend with a phobia of worms on the ground. She would freak out at having to walk across a parking lot after it rained. They’re laying there helpless and dying and yet she’s frightened by them.

    • Kate says:

      Truth. I can’t not even THINK about touching terra cotta, unfinished pottery or chalk. I get nauseated just thinking about it. People think I’m being silly or weird or crazy. I can’t explain it. It can’t stop it. It just is.

      • Wurstbonbon says:

        Kate: me too, and I know a lot of people with the same reaction. Actually I think most people I know hate those things too.

  8. Alix says:

    No word of a lie — I’m freaked out by maps, especially those depicting large bodies of water. Opening up an AAA map is NOT pleasant.

    • Taiss says:

      I’m afraid of balloons and butterflies

      • benchwarmer says:

        This all is so fascinating to me. I never knew of such phobias, although I have heard of fear of balloons. Is it the popping or the sound of the balloon squeaking as it is touched by skin?

        My phobia is quite boring…one specific type of bug. All other bugs I save. The bug I fear I call the ‘scary hairy’ bec. it has a million legs and almost looks furry and they are fast AF. I think they might be called silverfish, they are not caterpillars those are cute. My parents house had a different type of silverfish but I wasn’t scared of that one to this degree. I once lived in an apt. that would get them every May and back in college I had two different dorm rooms that had. I moved both times. I have anxiety about it every time I move if the new place will have them.

      • Ange says:

        Well with balloons…. They are filled with the capacity to give her a little fright and she finds that unbearable. XD

      • Wurstbonbon says:

        I am afraid of clowns. And power sockets. And power lines. And looking into the mirror at night because I always wonder if my eyes have turned red. That happens when your grandparents dont monitor which kind of movies you watch as a kid (Teenwolf, Carrie).
        Also I totally get the tryptowhatever thing. I dont have it but those lotus heads are really… something.

      • Carolina says:

        benchwarmer, those are the worst! I don’t know what they are, either–the closest match I’ve found are house caterpillars (maybe aka house centipedes?). I’m not afraid of them, but they provoke within me an almost instinctive disgust. And they always seem to run right toward my feet! I’ve never had them at home, but I’ve seen several in my office.

      • ladybosca says:

        Hi guys! I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I am petrified of balloons also. My mom brought me to a hypnotherapist to help me “attempt” to overcome my fear. It made it worse.
        I have panic attacks when I see balloons. It’s embarrassing. And as much as I hate balloons, I did learn that if I turn down every invitation, I will never see family, friends, etc. My family tries but they all have little children so I try to keep my freak outs to a minimum.
        I also think that phobias are very real, scary and misunderstood to people who do not have them. 🙂

      • Neverwintersand says:

        Count me in! Especially those furry moths – hate them!

    • Jess says:

      I’m scared of construction sites at night (think the equipment is going to come on), water towers (just keep imaging being stuck in one where it’s dark and I can’t see what’s in the water….ok NO!!!), and the pool drains (irrational fear of a shark coming into the water).

  9. Jen43 says:

    Every time I see a photo of her I can’t get past how there is nothing special about her look and how she has a thriving modeling career. I feel bad about the phobia, though. I wonder if it affects her career.

    • susiecue says:

      I just wonder why she wears so many “holey” outfits, if it bothers her. *shrugs*
      But I’ve got to admit I have no understanding of the phobia

  10. Cran says:

    No dictionary entries found for ‘Trypophobia’.
    That’s the response returned when I entered the word into OED online.

    Trypophobia (from the Greek: τρύπα, trýpa, meaning “hole” and φόβος, phóbos, meaning “fear”) is a proposed phobia (intense, irrational fear) of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps. The term is believed to have been coined by a participant in an online forum in 2005.

    This is what I found when I googled.

  11. Trixie says:

    I have this phobia. Just thinking about it makes me squirm.

  12. Myrna says:

    Does the dress she’s wearing in the top pic make her want to hurl and fall over in terror?!😎

    I have a phobia, too, and never heard of this one, but know how crippling it can be.

  13. MissMerry says:

    but honeycombs aren’t in an irregular pattern…they’re more like screens…is she scared of the holes in screens?

    I can’t say that lotus heads don’t make my lip curl though, they just look gross, like big pores or something.

    That being said, I have a phobia of stickers. I’ve never, ever liked stickers, on me, on food, on paper…IDK if there is a name for it, but the thought of having a banana sticker stuck to the trash bag when you take it off the banana, or having to wear a ‘visitors’ sticker or a ‘hello my name is’ sticker…I’m feeling uncomfortable just typing it…

    • nictombs says:

      My son has a sticker phobia! The worst part of a doctor’s appointment for him is getting offered a sticker afterward…

    • Grape says:

      A friend of mine has it too. Band aids, stickers…

    • tmot says:

      That’s fascinating. I’m not bothered by stickers per se, but I utterly loathe getting “sticky” on me. As soon as I touch something sticky and the sticky transfers on to me, I’m all UGH GET IT OFF ME!!! WHERE CAN I WASH UP!?!

      This was big fun when I did a lot of childcare work. :-/

      We’re all wired a little differently. I will gladly eat your left over lotus root if you will move the sticky thing so I don’t have to touch it!

  14. Zip says:

    I have a phobia of buttons (does not include metal button on jeans). Makes clothing choices quite hard sometimes. I also can’t look at people who wear stuff with visible buttons like blouses or tuxedos or anything that has buttons on it. Even the word disgusts me.

    • dr mantis toboggan says:

      Wow, I’ve never heard anyone else say that before but that is my weird phobia. I don’t even see a name for it on phobia lists so I thought I was alone.
      My biggest fear is the thought of having a button in my mouth , ugh gagging at the thought

    • justme says:

      Koumpounophobia

  15. Linds says:

    That picture is a trigger!!

    lol jk, but forreal I can relate to this too, it makes my skin crawl and the hairs stand up, not a fan of those creepy hole-y patterns!

  16. Kim says:

    I have this too. I wouldn’t say it gives me “the worst anxiety”, but I definitely have a reaction of physical discomfort in a way that’s hard to explain when I see or think about those types of things.

    Part of it definitely is that it triggers images of stuff crawling out of the little holes *full body shudder*

    • detritus says:

      Right? It’s not a full blown phobia, but its anxiety inducing.
      Things in the holes are the worst.
      It’s the seeds in the lotus blossom and the trans membrane proteins in electron pictures that get me.

  17. Lynnie says:

    Wow, Kendall and I have something in common, AND she taught me something today. 😱

    Lol, but really it’s good to know I’m not going crazy.

  18. cakecakecake says:

    I have it slightly too, I am not afraid–I am uncomfortable, antsy and start to itch all over my body. I don’t fear what’s in the holes, its the pattern that distubs me.
    I almost had a trigger moment looking at that pic, only scratched a few times and now am trying to put it out of my mind.

  19. Frey says:

    My mom has this to the max. Sometimes holes bother me, but no like that.

    Anyway, what sad lives pay for this shit? Eesh.

  20. me says:

    Actually, a lot of people have this phobia. It goes back to humans being scared of anything that looks like rotting flesh. Most people are grossed out by those “holes” without realizing it’s an actual fear.

    • Lynnie says:

      Huh. That’s actually really interesting. Thank you for the info! 😊

    • Neverwintersand says:

      Thank you! That’s an logical explanation. Puts my mind at ease, really. I was grossed out by layers of peeling paint on walls, lotus heads and other irregular patterns with holes in them; i thought i was mental.

  21. Michelina says:

    I’ve felt grossed out when I’ve seen little holes in weird patterns, but not enough to say I have a phobia. Interesting to learn that this is a thing.

    On another note, it seems like Kim is the only one in this family who posts content on her site that can even be deemed remotely interesting. I just watched Kendall’s 73 Questions interview with Vogue and it’s so obvious that someone wrote those answers for her. Those interviews are always super contrived, but Kendall is arguably the most inarticulate of the entire bunch, worse than even Kylie. Emily Ratajkowski did the same interview a while ago and Kendall reminded me so much of her. Although I think Kendall is very pretty, I don’t think she has any qualities, physical or otherwise, that really distinguish or set her apart from anyone else.

  22. Evil owl says:

    I have a phobia of celestial objects. The first time it manifested was on a school field trip to the planetarium- I freaked out and ran outside screaming and falling down! Phobias may seem irrational and are easy to make fun of but can be crippling for the person experiencing them.

    • Wurstbonbon says:

      I get it. I don’t have it but I don’t consider it a weird phobia at all. I hope you found a good way to deal with it.

  23. Kat says:

    Having an obscure phobia does not make Kendall Jenner interesting. Nice try pimp mama Kris. Back to the drawing board!

  24. Psu Doh Nihm says:

    I have a weird fear of dark, empty or dirty swimming pools.

    I break out in a sweat, my heart races, I have nightmares when I even think about them too long.

    • Wurstbonbon says:

      ME TOO! I need to add that to my list of phobias that I posted above. I had to stop diving at age 16 because I became afraid of deep water, and I am most afraid of swimming pools. Especially old ones. The cleaner and brighter they are, the better, but I always feel uneasy. Swimming in the sea or a lake is no problem, no matter how dark or dirty the water… The brain is a funny thing.
      Strangely the lamps in a swimming pool are creeping me out aswell.

  25. Bobo says:

    I have it too. Those little holes are disgusting. I also like to watch zit popping videos on youtube…

  26. Nancy says:

    Does this mean she is afraid of that little weird thing in her head called a brain?

  27. Snarkweek says:

    I’m 42 years old and I never knew I had this – I just thought I was weird. Do I have Kendall Jenner to thank for something? FML.

  28. Amelie says:

    Oh trypophobia!!! DO NOT GOOGLE IT. And it is very real. The worst images will pop up on Google Images, I made the mistake once about a year ago. The pictures are horrific, trust me. And this is definitely a real thing. Irregular patterns like coral, honeycombs, the lotus flower (when all the petals off) can set people off. I have always been disgusted by honeycombs myself. Safe place to read about is Wikipedia.

    • Erica_V says:

      Ok – I did a google search and OMG BUT… those pictures aren’t real they are photoshopped. Like the pictures of huge pores on skin or lots of teeth are not real.. so are those pictures an example of what someone with this phobia sees when they look at their hands?

      So confused.

      • Mrs. Odie says:

        The fake pictures exaggerate the phobia and trigger the feeling of disgust in people who don’t legitimately have it. If you have it, then you know you have it. The Photoshopped pictures are gross to everyone. To trypophobics like me, that honeycomb picture above was skin-crawling misery to look at. But not as bad as other triggers that I can’t name or I’ll have to think about them.

  29. Lauren says:

    No judgement here! I am afraid of the Tristan Pegasus…I legit can’t look at it without having the urge to cry. I am also afraid of statues like the statue of liberty, the scales of lady justice, and I hate lady Britannica statues. They are all just so erie.

    The funny thing is that have no problem looking at statues of Greek or Roman gods. I find those beautiful. I wouldn’t even bat an eye at Athena.

    My sister is afraid of maps. She can’t look at world maps or pictures of earth from outer space. They freak her out.

    So yeah lol I come from a family of people scared of strange things

  30. jesb says:

    I just learned this term a few years ago and it really did feel good to put a name to something I’ve known my whole life. I just thought i was too easilt grossed out, it makes me nauseated and my skin crawl. It’s a horrible feeling. Weird that there’s a name for everything nowadays

  31. Tan says:

    I learned about this phobia a few years ago and while I haven’t been diagnosed there are patterns of holes and circles that I find disturbing and make my skin crawl (honeycombs = not really but lotus flower seeds = heck yes). There are many things in nature that feature these shapes that could be harmful or cause pain i.e. honeycombs, rashes/bumps, poisonous frogs etc. so maybe Kendall and others suffering from trypophobia are onto something?

    • FLORC says:

      Yup! Our phobias all tie in with survival.
      I wouldn’t say I have this phobia, but looking at those items posters are listing does make me incredibly uneasy. Like it’s bacteria and decay related.
      I know the porous texture on statues can set me off too.

  32. Katie says:

    She’s milquetoast, remarkable only because she is the least otlandish member of her family.

    • Myrna says:

      I think her looks are quite exotic, but she does have a low key personality and seems not to be very intelligent and lacks an expansive vocabulary.
      But she is very young.
      I have some hope for her..

  33. Calico Cat says:

    I’ll bet her trips to the OB/GYN are a real scream.

  34. justme says:

    I am phobic about mirrors especially in the dark. It is irrational and I know it is but I just can’t shake the feeling that if I look in one in the dark I will see something I wasn’t meant to see and if I ever do see it bad things will happen. So illogical!

  35. Snappyfish says:

    I have a severe case of Ophidianaphobia. I can even see a photograph let alone in real life. It’s awfully I cry, feel faint & then throw up. So I can’t make a comment about Kendall phobia that she wrote about in the most childish way

  36. peridot says:

    I have severe ceiling-fan-phobia and don’t think Kendall deserve shade for her trypophobia.

  37. Steph says:

    I am really surprised by how many regular commenters have this! A friend in high school had this, it was so strange to me. I will never forget how upset she was when explaining it to me; I doodled a cluster of circles to clarify what she was talking about. She shook and pushed the paper away and started gagging. And this girl was a tough cookie.

  38. Rachillnz says:

    I know this is serious for some but I’m still rolling my eyes.

    Funny how half the posters have this same phobia😭😭😭😭
    Righto…

  39. Nans says:

    i have that.. it’s awful. for me it’s pancakes.. really gross. i end up not eating it and just try not to think too much about how incredibly goosebumpy it makes me feel 😰

  40. Katie says:

    This explains so much…

  41. I'm With The Band says:

    I have a fear of large holes in Kardashian faces, mostly because DRIVEL.

  42. Chetta B. says:

    My goodness that certainly sounds like something that would turn your life upside-down for sure. *groan*

  43. rudy says:

    #leavekendallalone

    I like her. :-}

    She seems……real. genuine. shy.
    Everything thing her sisters and her mother are not.
    The Kardashian who can save the kids perhaps.

  44. Rebecca says:

    All I’m thinking is, “Could there be spiders in those little holes?” Cause if there is then I’m scared of them too!

  45. Karen says:

    I googled what a lotus head was and my skin started to crawl and itch just by looking at it for a few seconds

  46. Mrs. Odie says:

    I have terrible trypophobia. I feel bad for all of the people who are going to Google it now and find out that they have it too, and will never be able to unsee the images. My daughter’s preschool was doing a unit on plants and the bulletin board included pictures of lotus seeds. I couldn’t look at it when I went in to pick her up. It’s just terrible.

  47. Lady Rain says:

    I have terrible tryptophobia too. Just reading or hearing the word “holes” gives me bad itchies. I’m scratching myself as I’m writing this! My sister has it too, so perhaps it’s genetic.

    I’m also terrified of dark rooms and roaches, which may be a little more common among folks.

    Glad I’m not the only one with my weird phobias!