Kim Kardashian called out for unrecognisable 'blackface' snap
She’s weathered many controversies over the years, from her 72 day marriage to Kris Humphries to the furore over her ‘Kimono’ shapewear line and backlash over her Instagram ad for appetite suppressant lollipops.
And now Kim Kardashian is being criticised online for a new magazine cover, where fans are accusing her of “blackface” in the image.
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The snap shows the 39-year-old ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ star lying on a white bed, dressed in a black cut-out Mugler dress, a lavish Amwaj Jewellery necklace and a black wig.
However, people were unimpressed with the campaign, with one person calling it “problematic and racially insensitive”.
“Seriously Kim Kardashian this is becoming too much. We understand fully that you all want to be black but this isn’t the way. While a beautiful pic, you’re black-fishing,” another person said on Instagram.
Others called her the “queen of blackfishing”, while another said: “You’re not black, stop it.”
‘Blackfishing’ is a practice that sees white women apparently presenting themselves as black.
READ MORE: University apologises for students pictured in blackface
Urban dictionary gives the definition of blackfishing as “commonly perpetrated by females of European descent (white) which involves artificial tanning (spray tanning and tanning booths) and using makeup to manipulate facial features in order to appear to have some type of Black African ancestry.”
Since the backlash against the snap came to light, a source close to Kim, who was on set at the time of shoot, told Page Six that it’s the lighting making her look darker in the image.
“There are multiple covers and images from this shoot where the lighting looks more natural. People are so quick to find the negative in everything and also often forget that she is of Armenian descent,” the source said.
It’s not the first time Kim has been called out for blackface. In June 2017, Kim was slated for a promotional image she released to promote her KKW Beauty makeup line.
The snap showed Kim appearing to have skin several shades darker than her natural skin tone.
You dont have to do blackface pic.twitter.com/MLcJ5Hbg9R
— Wynters (@Sacha_Wynters) June 14, 2017
Kim hit back at the negative comments on her reality show, saying: "We wanted them really moody; it was really tan.”
"I wanted to show the contour. The photos ended up being a little bit darker than I was.
“There were some people online saying I was doing blackface and the photos were inappropriate."
"The internet world is so toxic, and I feel like people are just waiting for you to make a mistake. Just to point out.”
READ MORE: Kim Kardashian accused of cultural appropriation over new hair
However Kim admitted that she had to address the controversy because if she didn’t it would “turn in one of those situations where people will think I’m trying to ignore something serious."
The star ended up changing the images on her site and her social media account.
