Kim Kardashian Denies Blackfishing Accusations

Kimberly Noel Kardashian-West wants you to know that “obviously” she would “never do anything to appropriate any culture.”

Source: Christopher Polk / Getty Images for MTV

Recently during an interview with i-D Magazine, Kimmy Cakes opened up about some of the past criticism she’s been slammed with for doing exactly that, in particular with Black culture.

As previously reported [on numerous occasions] the SKIMS founder has been accused of tanning her skin to appear melanated and has been blasted for rocking a few “urban” ensembles.

Back in June 2018, Kim strutted down the red carpet at the MTV Movie & TV Awards with traditional Fulani Braids, which she referred to as “Bo Derek braids.” The Internet roasted the celeb to oblivion for the style choice.

While speaking to playwright Jeremy O. Harris, Kim denied the accusations of Blackfishing telling i-D that she “would never do anything to appropriate any culture.”

“I have in the past got backlash from putting my hair in braids and I understand that,” the 41-year-old star continued, adding that her eldest daughter, North, tends to inspire most of her controversial hair moments. She also pointed to her Armenian heritage as another reason why she sometimes puts her hair through hell to rock braids. 

“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.

But then there’s also a history of braiding hair in Armenia, and people forget that I am Armenian as well,” Kardashian added.

Ultimately, Kim said she’s learned from the cultural mishaps and that’s she’s “figured out good ways to communicate” some of those lessons to her bi-racial children. In addition to North, the burgeoning lawyer shares three more adorable kiddos with mega rap star Kanye West: Chicago, 3, and sons Saint, 6, and Psalm, 2.

“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,” she added.  “Mainly I just hope to have raised kind and well-adjusted kids. I hope in ten years we’re just enjoying life and helping other people. That’s my goal.”

Elsewhere in her candid interview, Kim revealed that she originally planned to name her bustling shapewear brand Kimono, which she said represented “a play” on her name and her love for Japanese culture, but after backlash quickly ensued, the busy entrepreneur pulled the plug on the idea.

“To me, it was just paying homage to it, but I quickly realized that it wasn’t being seen that way. I would never intentionally try to appropriate the culture in that way. It wasn’t my intention at all. So I just was like, “Okay, shut it down. It doesn’t matter that we have so many products already. We have to figure this out. We need to take our time and slow down for a second and figure it out and change the name.”

Well, the move proved to be a good one on Kim’s part, because SKIMS has been raking in moola from customers since its highly anticipated launch in September 2019.

Back in November, the model and influencer teamed up with Fendi for a limited-edition capsule collection that rang in a whopping $1 million in under 60 seconds. TMZ noted that SKIMS’ successful collab with the high fashion giant was a big milestone for the brand given that it’s only been in existence for three years.

So, what do you think? Are Kimmy’s comments sincere? Or is she Blackfishing for clout in your opinion? Sound off in the comments!