Khloe Kardashian has been dating Cleveland Cavalier Tristan Thompson for several months now. I believe it started as a summer fling, but they’re still going strong well into autumn. Tristan is African-American. Which doesn’t shock me in the least, but we do have to acknowledge that there are people out there who are still shocked by interracial couples. One woman wrote to Khloe about interracial dating and Khloe responded on her subscription app.
Speaking out. Khloé Kardashian sounded off on the topic of interracial dating in a post on her app on Friday, October 28, sharing a fan’s story and adding that she didn’t understand why some people still make it an issue.
“Interracial dating in today’s society is still looked down upon by many people,” Kelsey Wells, wrote to Kardashian, 32. “I am a woman who dates a man. Why can’t it just be that simple?” Wells went on to explain that she lives in the South, and everywhere she and her boyfriend go, “there are always stares,” and “people often make rude comments and gestures toward us.” Even so, she writes, “I brush it off because I know the man I love is HUMAN.”
Khloe seconded Wells’ sentiments and added her own two cents. “Thank you Kelsey for talking about this important issue,” the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star wrote. “I don’t support racism or discrimination of any kind and I especially don’t understand why some people are still against interracial relationships. Like who the F cares anymore?! It’s so crazy because we’re all human beings capable of love so why does skin color have anything to do with it?”
I imagine we’ll be talking about this a lot more when Loving comes out! True story: Loving v. Virgina was the Supreme Court case that ended anti-miscegenation laws in America and the SCOTUS case was heard in 1967. And we’re still talking about this fifty years later in America, about how interracial couples still get weird looks and rude behavior. I’m a product of an interracial marriage, so obviously I have a similar view to Khloe – who cares? At this point, what does it matter, honestly?
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News, Fame/Flynet.
My dad and I have gone to war over interracial relationships. We’re in the adoption process and my parents’ first question was: Are you going to adopt a white child? WTF?
We live in the South, too, and in my parents’ case, in a small town in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains, but there is NO excuse for continuing this shit. Fortunately, we live in ATL where no one usually bats an eye, but there are still tons of people who think like should marry like. My head almost explodes on a daily basis. (Not to mention all the Trump support and anti-gay slurs that get flung around down here.)
I live in Atlanta too. Holy shit the racism here is UNREAL. WHITE people always stare and Asian people always stare, black people are racist as hell AGAINST Asians, it’s a real shit show and I need to move to a more enlightened state
Really? I’m surprised because I thought ATL was good about stuff like that???
Fellow ATLien here, hello!
And I hear you. I’m in school in a small town in southwest GA, and over the summer I went to the pool with a black male friend of mine. You could literally feel it in the air, how uncomfortable it was making everyone. The looks we were getting were so blantantly obvious. And there was a guy wearing a make America great again hat, so.
Wow…I had no idea.
Soooo late of me but good luck with the adoption! Wishing your whole family much happiness.
Yay, a fellow adopter! 🙂 I am in the outreach process right now and hoping to adopt next year. The best of luck to you :-*
The Daily Fail cares.
I never once understood what the big deal is with interracial relationships. I’m a product of a mixed raced marriage, and I honestly think with time there are gonna be more and more generations that are mixed races. Before there were boundaries and a lack of movement of population but as we are becoming more globalised, we have more opportunities to meet others of different races.
I’ve been in several mixed race relationships and so have my friends. I don’t think it’s a big deal at all, but I think it’s becoming the norm for the younger generation (speaking as a 24 year old woman).
You said you’ve been in several mixed race relationships. What do you consider a mixed race relationship being that you are of mixed race yourself? I’m half Black and half White and really feel like I would need to date someone Asian to be dating outside my race. Just curious as to how you see it.
I’m Middle Eastern with German ascentary, (although I never lived in Germany), and I’ve been in a relationship with White European men and an African-American man. Still since I grew up in the Middle East, I found these two relationships vastly different from what I was used to with my relationships with Arab men. So even if I am part German, going out with a white Irish man who lived in Europe all his life was vaaaastly different from my experience. Even though he is technically ‘part’ of my other race/heritage.
But I think anything outside your own experience I would definitely consider it mixed culture.
I agree. I’m also mixed, but super fair in coloring. I’ve always been in mixed relationships. Some non-mixed people are surprised when they find out I’m mixed (it’s always white non mixed, too), but others like me, we seem to have a radar for each other. I think there are more mixed people around than people realize tbh.
Those shorts matter. ewww
Who the F cares, indeed! In the same category as same-sex couples: how does it affect anybody besides the two people in love? It doesn’t! So ridiculous, but I guess some people need to look down on others in order to feel better about themselves.
I’m part of an interracial marriage. I’m white and grew up with lots of white people, dated white men before my husband. The hardest part for me personally is seeing the small ways in which my husband is not treated the same as white men. Small things, but disrespectful. And it enrages me! It upsets me more than it does him actually. I guess I’ll never get used to it, whereas he has always been used to it.
What’s awful is that racist people will say it DOES affect them because it ‘infects’ and ‘dilutes’ the ‘superior’ white genepool and they worry about the ‘dying out’ of the ‘pure’ white race. Disgusting.
I didn’t like even typing those things, even as just a description of awful things i’ve seen other people say. But for real some people actually think like that.
But it’s not always the white side that has issues. It mostly is, but not always. A friend of my moved to America ( Seattle) and married an African American. Her family was fine with it. It was a bit of a novelty because most of them never even met someone who’s not white in person, but they were cool about it. His family? Complete outrage. They didn’t come to the wedding, called him a traitor. There were also issues about her being Eastern European. They still don’t speak now, and it’s been a year since the wedding.
The biggest issue for Khloe should be pregnant wife her man left behind.
I am Interracial relationship, that said please let’s NOT be a post about everyone acting like “OMG WHO THE EFF CARES, I HAVEN’T THE FAINTEST Why Black Women Side eye these *ssclowns and their dating habits” All Of you Need to be better than this, have more sense and more of an understanding of what unfolds with these women, Please
And NO don’t count on me or any of the brown girls in here to explain Yet again why
I am with you on this, QQ
QQ – Why do you always have to speak to my whole heart?! You can’t have me out here snapping and crying while staring at my computer screen. It’s too much <3
I mean I COULD but won’t Go on! I can’t work myself up whatsoever, especially not if that’s the level of the discourse in the commentariat #WhoCares #CLearlyNotYouOrThem #AllTheWhileContinuingToPresentAsSomeSortOfBETTERVersionofBlackWomanhood #UntilSh*tGetsReal
I completely get it and it’s been explained multiple times around here quite thoroughly and eloquently by black commenters.
Right there with ya, QQ, and ESPECIALLY in regards to this problematic family that wears black men like accessories!
If you take issue with interracial relationships, the problem isn’t the relationship, it’s you. Who the F cases who people love? There is so much hate in the world, how do people have time & energy to hate love?! Blows my mind
What I’ve always told my family is this world is too big to just date ONE race. All that should matter is how they treat you. My white bf treated me far worse than any other guys I’ve dated who were not white. I’ve dated all races & ethnicity. My friends call me the United Nations bc of it. I’m looking for good person, not a good race.
That being said, if Khlo-money puts that “kardashian curse” on Tristan’s game… imma have a problem with THIS relationship. We’re going for ring number 2 so…. stay out the way girl lol
I am not American so I can say this – this whole interracial controversy is only strong in the US. In other countries, especially in Europe or South America, it’s not a concern at all.
Americans freak out about two things I will never understand why – interracial relationships and age gap.
Europe? Where they look down on everyone else that’s not from their own country? Let alone a different race (that usually happens to be one of their former colonies). At least in USA they won’t tell it to your face if they hate your gut.
Europe is not a single country. Most European countries didn’t have colonies.
Racial issues exist in Europe, but in a different way than in America. And in a different way in each European country.
I would say that in most of Europe ethnicity plays a bigger role than just race ( even though race is often tied into it).
I can say that in my country, which is almost all white, the only instances of racism I remember hearing about happened during football matches, and you can hardly judge a country based on it’s football hooligans. But when these things happened, they were horrible, but they were direct. The way racism works in America, how subtle and institutionalised it is, is somwthing that does jot happen here.
But then again, I am part of the majority so I can’t say what the experience of someone who isnt white living here is like, I can only speak about stories I know from the media.
I’m not sure where you are from lack lamora, although it is unfair to judge an entire continent from the actions of few, I have to say based on mine and my friends’ experience who are Arab and we all collectively lived in the U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands and Germany, there is a lot of racism and sometimes that racism comes from colleagues and acquaintances but in more subtler ways (I found out that several people have called me a terorrist behind my back and have been told to go back wherever I came from on nights out).
Hmmmmm no. I’m Australian and it would definitely raise eyebrows in a lot of areas where necks get far too much sun.
i think khloe is just trying to divert the attention here. people are side-eying her relationship not because it’s interracial but because the dude left his pregnant girlfriend for her. i mean, what a tool! and interracially- dating- heroine khloe is complicit in this.
Ding ding ding!
And being so crass about it really helps the situation, too, Khloe. Not.
Exactly. He left his pregnant girlfriend!! Why won’t more people talk about this.
Why is it that every story about interracial dating/relationships is always prefaced with who cares and what does it matter. LOL. It may not matter to most people but at least in the US there is so much history surrounding race and sex, that yes, it does matter. Especially in a country where white is still seen as ideal and you’re hard pressed to find non-negative portrayals and non-stereotypical portrayals of women who aren’t white.
Less we forget that roughly 50 years ago black men and children could be lynched for looking at white women the wrong way. And to this day, black women in particular, are still portrayed as either being loose jezebel/sluts or sexless mammies with no in between. To this day some white women still engage in Mandingo fantasies. Um, so yeah, still an issue.
That may not describe any particular interracial relationships or your interracial relationship in particular but it isn’t as cut and dried as “people love who they love” in many cases. I could go on and on but this is probably not the appropriate forum/
Preach! 👐
This is what I Learned the hard way by dating an Asian man as a Latina woman:
You’re relationship cannot exist in a vacuum.
It exists in a world with other racist or ignorant people. Therefore, if you’re going to enter into an interracial relationship, you better go into it knowing you have to hold your head up high even when everyone in the room is STARING at you and not in a good way. And even your close friends may side eye you. Someone might even imply you have a fetish. Can you and do you want to defend yourself against that? It’s not fair but it might happen.
I strongly believe interracial dating is not something people should “dabble” in because they want to try every color of the rainbow.
It has to be something you are willing to accept because you like or love that person so much.
The Kardashians are completely insulated from any interracial hate because they think they should be celebrated for dating black men (and Kanye encourages this thinking). You are not doing anyone any favors, Khloe.
Society at large is definitely a lot more tolerant toward the white male-something else female couplings vs white female and a black male. Black women dating an attractive and responsible white men appears as pleasant, forward-thinking, and amiable.
A white woman dating a black male in particular?
The Q is often times ‘what went wrong’ or ‘she must be some trailer park discard’.
Most white female pornstars will partake in anal and even unprotected sex before having sex with a black male on camera. The moment you do that, your asking fee/prestige will often times go way down in the adult entertainment industry. OR these women will ask a lot more money for engaging in a scene with a black male, because they know they will lose so much after that choice reputation-wise, and there is no coming back from that.
It is often perceived as a ‘last resort’. It is what it is for whatever reason.
In my experience, as a black woman having dated white men and now married to a white man, people absolutely do have issues with it and my theory is;men carry the name.
Men are usually the ones who not only carry the last name but also are financially the ones who provide for the family and any money he brings in goes to the family and the wife’s extended family.
The reason why interracial marriage was forbidden in the first place was because of white men wanting to marry black Women and that was a threat economically because it would transfer the wealth from white hands to black.
Slave owners who wanted to leave land to their children with black Women or slave owners who wanted to free the slave women they had relationships with was becoming a big problem.
I know this is an oldish post but I just wanted to point out that Tristan Thompson is not African-American. He is Canadian and his parents are from Jamaica!
Thank you!
But he’s still black and unlike Canada, in America you are your race. You are what society perceives you to be. So him being black Canadian means nothing in a place where you are your color.
khloe looks really good here