Last week, Kim Kardashian released the first promotional image for her new beauty line. The image is above. Immediately after the release, everyone on Kim’s social media was like, “Girl, are you doing blackface?” This image definitely looks darker in general, and they definitely digitally enhanced her skin color/tone. I referred to it as digital blackface rather than the more terribly traditional makeup-driven blackface, because it’s clear that all of the Photoshop wizards played around with this stuff quite heavily. Kim also released more promotional images yesterday, and in addition to looking darker, she also looks like she was bitten by a radioactive bronze spider. She’s glowing, and it’s not that she has blackface. She has BRONZEFACE. Anyway, Kim tried to explain why these images look so strange (but she doesn’t really apologize for the blackface).
Kim Kardashian meant no harm. Last week, she shared the first promotional image for KKW Beauty on social media. It showed the E! reality star looking heavily bronzed, and some users accused her of “wearing blackface.” Kardashian, who worked with photographer Ben Hasset and makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic, addressed the controversy directly in an interview with The New York Times published Monday.
“I would obviously never want to offend anyone,” said Kardashian, whose children with Kanye West are biracial. “I used an amazing photographer and a team of people. I was really tan when we shot the images, and it might be that the contrast was off. But I showed the image to many people, to many in the business. No one brought that to our attention. No one mentioned it.”
“Of course, I have the utmost respect for why people might feel the way they did. But we made the necessary changes to that photo and the rest of the photos. We saw the problem, and we adapted and changed right away,” the reality star continued. “Definitely I have learned from it.”
With that out of the way, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star wanted to get down to business. She will launch KKW Beauty Wednesday with one product: the Crème Contour and Highlight Kit, which includes a contour stick, a highlighter stick and a brush/sponge, all with dual ends. The package will be sold exclusively on her website—in four shades—for $48 each.
Do you buy her explanation that something was just “off” plus she was really tan when the photos were taken? Eh. I’m more offended by the idea that “the look” now is supposed to be “bright bronze and shiny.” I’m also sort of offended that they Photoshopped the sh-t out of arms in one shot – she looks like she has Barbie arms. These are promotional photos for her makeup line and obviously she’s approving everything. My point? Don’t try to say “oh, someone should have said something!” Be self-aware. Say, “I don’t know, you guys, am I really that dark and glowing?”
Photos courtesy of Kim’s Twitter.
Then why are the original photo’s so much lighter?
And in any other photo you see (that is not from the photoshoot) she is not that dark.
This bitch is photographed every day of her life, if she were that dark, we would have seen it in her pap photos over a period of time.
Cherise, you are so right! Nobody in the universe is as aware of the image he or she presents publicly as Miss Kim. Well, except Kanye. Imagine getting mirror-time in that household! I have no idea why she even tried to get away with this. Sadly, the entire universe knows what she looks like. All of her. As usual, she deflects any blame by using the old “well, none of my entourage said anything so I thought it was OK” ploy. How I would love to have an entourage, just for one day! The shenanigans would be legendary!
She was fake tanned to death and then after the photo shoot they completely changed the contrast of the whole photo. You can see that the background was made significantly darker as well.
Ughhhh can you imagine the state of her sheets and towels with all that greasy crap all over her body daily? They probably have to be tossed after one use! Yuck!
No love, it’s photoshop 🙄
she doesn’t look black, she look grey. Photoshop fail.
The wet hair doesn’t help the overall look. And no, you weren’t just “really tan” Kim.
No, this is not “black face”–which is intended to mock and dehumanize. Kim is merely using airbrushed darker skin to look prettier and more eye catching and attracive: that’s the *opposite* of blackface. That she looks weird is the fault of plastic surgery—has absolutely NOTHING TO DO w “cultural appropriation”—-except, I guess, to the eagerly, perpetually offended.
People keep buying her carp. She is probably the biggest phoney in reality tv but she is laughing at us all the way to the bank. What I s wrong with this country. Trump, Kardashians, ???????
Get out of my head lol. I said it yesterday. We live in a world of stupidity. No morals no values anything and everyone is for sale.
These photos scare me.
All this fuss with photoshop when she’s selling make up. It is used in the industry I know, plus filters and lights and so on and so forth. I tend NOT to believe any commercial or beauty vlog. They only create needs and false illusions making you buy even more. But I gotta admit that KK is tireless.
The one with the beacon of light shining up from her cleavage to highlight her nose is hilarious
Imo contouring is one of the worst make-up trends ever. How did we survive without it?
She can “model” it all she wants, her face is so full of plastic that she should promote her plastic surgeon at the same time.
And yes, she is very dark, definitely not a “tan dark”, and shouldn’t need other people to tell her that.
AND, the kit seems overpriced.
This is why Kanye disappoints me so much. The Kanye of ten or fifteen years ago wouldnt just have called this out, he would have made music to mock it. No way he would be married into and abetting this family. That someone who was once so clued in would sell out so completely makes me worry for Kendrick. I know the loss of his mother and his illness have combined to make him vulnerable but that still doesnt explain how far he swung to the other end of the consciousness spectrum.
I’m not a Kanye West fan, but he’s said he was in love with her many years before they started dating
He was already losing touch at this point. Like most people he didnt just suddenly lose himself, it was a gradual process that you can literally track in his lyrics. In one album he is challenging the stereotype of absent black fathers and welfare black mothers pointing to his hands on grandfather who raised his mother who became a university academic. “Some of us are and some of us aint. Just like you”. In a different song, he tells white folk to stop “correcting” his English, his mother is a f-ing English professor and that he knows how to speak your language but he chooses to speak in this dialect. Jump forward a few years and the departure from his roots is in full swing, he is rapping about how his girl “makes yours look like Precious”. In between you can clearly see the shift to a more materialistic outlook. Today theres no substance to him, no depth, its just get money and a desirable woman (which is an attitude he mocked hiphop for at the beginning of his career). Original Kanye was basically a corky version of Lupe Fiasco. Its a nightmare what success did to him.
Kim knows exactly what she was doing outrage marketing is apparently a thing for this klan and people keep foolishly giving them the attention they crave
As a rule I rarely click on or comment on Kardashian stories cus I want them to go away and I feel that the people who love to hate them are still contributing to thier presence by clicking and commenting on thier stories cuz a click is a click
I am happy to note though in recent mths just from the article summary (which you can see without clicking ) that the views and comments for KKlan stories are way down hopefully they will eventually go away like Paris Hilton
Sorry but no. This family has been appropriating black culture since EVER. I am not surprised by her blatant B.S. story of “I was so tan”. Please!
She has been doing this for years to play up her ‘exoticness’ when the truth is she’s actually very fair. It’s a shame that she remains so insensitive while raising black children. Anything for a dollar I guess.
100%. Have you noticed how the article points out the fact that she has biracial kids? It proves to me that I was always right about her, she using her kids as her prove that she couldn’t be racist because look at her black husband and biracial kids. Biracial kids is the new I have a black friend excuse courtesy of the Kardashian family. We all know that the Kardashian sisters are really pale like their Jenner sister when they don’t do a spraytan. Well, i hope that one of the few black people in her life reminds her that the real world won’t make a difference between biracial kids and black kids, they’re all considered black. Stephen Curry is a pale biracial and people still call him black. I’m really worried about how she’s going to raise those kids, I don’t think she’s really equipped for that reality. I think she will teach them about what it means to be black is based on what you learn from a Katy Perry video. Stereotypes. Except for cornrows that is something mommy invented and its called boxerbraids.
@mogul So she only married a black man and had interracial children to prove she’s not a racist? That’s pushing it a tad…
I really don’t think she’s trying to look black…maybe bronze. Is this makeup or whatever she’s shilling for AA customers? Sometimes, Lighter skin tones like to be darker & vice versa. I know I’m pale as ghost & I love being as tan as possible. I’m not trying to do blackface, I’m trying not to glow in the dark.
I’m thinking of Greek, Iranian and Armenian friends of mine, who are vampire fair during Canadian winters but turn deep brown in the summer because: THEIR OWN FEEKIN GENES, being accused of blackface. Definitely uncomfortable with that.
Never uncomfy about calling out icky photoshopping 4 a buck, though.
They want nothing more than to appear black while still using their white privilege. It’s sad that people (her husband included) think this is cute and not offensive.
You have hit the nail on the head here. That is it exactly. Kanye is also very guilty of the “you don’t like/include/rate/indulge me because I am black” line when you just don’t like him as an artist/rapper/designer whatever.
Really? I don’t see anything black about her.
First thing I noticed besides the photo shop was the fact that her bra doesn’t fit.
Her bras never fit.
*staring at this b*tch in Oprah Skepticism* Ok Whatever, you look straight up like 6 out of five Boehners if he had a baby with a Brown woman… But i’m super sure you weren’t trying to do the thing ya’ll always do where you try to pass yourselves off as “hood but classy kinda sorta like with the best parts of Black women but certainly not that” … i’m Suuuure It wasn’t That.. at all
Don’t @ me about any of this, My Commitment to Dragging Kardashians, Dunham and “funny” Co., Trash Men, Armitage Adjacents like they are trash and I need to run them to the Curb before Tuesday Morning Pick Up has been established, firmed up, signed, sealed, Delivurt (AS IS) I have ZERO desire to extend them good will or Parse their crap
Sis, I’m not @ you because they want the good stuff, while negging what they deem as bad. Keep dragging them while we live in our skin. The joy’s innumerable.
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 to you both!
She is a completely ridiculous person…..I know, I know…her bank account says otherwise. Whatever.
Well, apparently a whole, bunch of ridiculous people have insane bank accounts. Some of them are even pretending to run this country.
Brilliant!
She (and the entire klan) is a liar. The truth is not in her.
This is ridiculous, she’s been fake tanning for decades and this very obviously like she’s supposed to be “glowy”. She’s problematic in so many different ways but you guys chose to reach for this one.
Check the before and after photoshop photo’s in the original story.
The ¨before” photo is photoshopped too.
No one’s reaching. Just say you don’t see the issue, rather than dismiss an issue you don’t grasp.
I’ve never seen Kim that color before, so it really does look very odd. She fake tans, but not to that degree. She says now it was a photoshop mistake. But I don’t understand how nobody noticed it, including Kim. She knows what she actually looks like.
I completely dislike this woman and her family but this is small beans compared to some of the crap they’ve done/said.
Isn’t it a good thing that they are darkening compkexions instead of the usual lightening? I mean Beyonce is always lightened in media shots. I find it refreshing that they are actually darkening a skin tone now.
Agreed.
I stared at this comment for the longest time to figure out if you were joking. Surely you can’t be serious.
“Her kids are biracial” you have got to be…
I get so livid when people use this excuse for racism.
How dare they? I’ve seen people have “mixes babies” and still be racist pos. They are not props you use to excuse your behaviour, no.
From Kim to Kylie, all of them dated black men and one point and they have NO issue with the shit they do, they have NO issue stealing from black women and passing it off as their own.
Saint and North are not token to use.
Reminds me of Absolutely Fabulous when Eddie (not fond of even her own babies) was furious that her daughter was pregnant until she saw the father, who was a black African. She completely changed her tune and was absolutely delighted because a “mixed-race baby” was the best accessory! Followed by a daydream sequence where Eddie was strolling around town carrying her “mixed-race granddaughter” and interacting with all the “cool people”.
Lmao, bronzeface.
If it’s coming out of a Kardashian’s mouth it’s a lie
she’s full of krap. (see what I did there? hehe)
this was intentional, the only “lesson learned” was how to get our attention since her show and racy pictures don’t seem to work for her anymore.
we all color our hair, go light with it, co dark. curl it, straighten it, braid it, etc.
We all change our makeup, don’t wear makeup, go cat eyes or kohl, go for the minimalist look, the dramatic look, contour, don’t contour, tan or not, bold lip or nude lip, ad nauseum.
Women of all ages, stages, races and places participate in this “never good enough, try something different game”. We all use each other as inspiration or vexation in the process.
So nah……I am not dragging her on this freaking photo or making an issue of it. Now her North pregnancy woredrobe……YES. That was some $hit.
She’s so full of it… that’s not a tan, that’s photoshop.
Off topic, but was Karrueche Tran getting granted a 5 year restraining order against Chris Brown covered anywhere? Did I miss it? This is a huge win against that sleaze.
Of course you were, dear.
Is that a tiny milk moustache, or glowy contouring?
I concur she is not that Bright.
But she’s all glow-y.
“Of course, I have the utmost respect for why people might feel the way they did. But we made the necessary changes to that photo and the rest of the photos. ”
English is not my primary language but isn’t weird to use BUT instead of AND? IDK, it makes it look like more defensive IMO.
Anyways, this family “Kapitalize” on racial issues when it suits them while having all the privileges. I believe it was a strategic move to appeal to the “ethnic” market and it backfired.
I also love this part : “I showed the image to many people, to many in the business. No one brought that to OUR attention. No one mentioned it.”
How condescending!