To celebrate her milestone 40th birthday, Kim Kardashian decided to throw an eye-wateringly lavish shindig on a private island. And seeing as this all took place with the global coronavirus pandemic still raging, people were unimpressed to say the least.
Taking to Instagram, Kim shared a series of photos from her private island party with her 190 million followers featuring her nearest and dearest celebrating.
“40 and feeling so humbled and blessed. There is not a single day that I take for granted, especially during these times when we are all reminded of the things that truly matter,” she wrote.
“For my birthday this year, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it than with some of the people who have helped shaped me into the woman I am today. Before COVID, I don’t think any of us truly appreciated what a simple luxury it was to be able to travel and be together with family and friends in a safe environment.”
Kim went on to say that after two weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, she surprised her closest inner circle with a trip to a private island, “where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time.”
“We danced, rode bikes, swam near whales, kayaked, watched a movie on the beach and so much more. I realise that for most people, this is something that is so far out of reach right now, so in moments like these, I am humbly reminded of how privileged my life is. #thisis40.”
Aside from praising how good she looks at 40 and wondering where youngest sister Kylie Jenner was, it didn’t take long for people to slam Kim for her tone deaf post and flaunting her wealth and privilege.
“Did the pandemic go away?! Omg wish someone would’ve told me we could have massive parties,” one person remarked in the comments.
“Girl this is not 40, this is $$ and Doctors. Stop spreading a false image and passing it off for #thisis40,” penned another.
“I love how the elite don’t have to social distance OR wear masks 🙇🏻♀️ called it #hypocrites,” stated a third.
Kim also shared the post on Twitter which only led to more backlash.
“The tone deafness of celebrities and influencers has been amplified during this pandemic. Whatever possessed Kim Kardashian to make an entire thread about her lavish birthday trip that with or without a pandemic 99.9% of people can’t afford is beyond me,” one penned.
“Willing to offer my services as Kim Kardashian’s ‘maybe don’t post that’ guy for 500k a year,” quipped another.
This by no means is the first time Kim Kardashian and her inner circle have been criticised for flaunting her wealth during the coronavirus pandemic.
Kanye West found himself in hot water after a congratulatory tweet directed at wife Kim when she became a billionaire in July.
“I am so proud of my beautiful wife Kim Kardashian West for officially becoming a billionaire. You’ve weathered the craziest storms and now God is shining on you and our family. So blessed this is still life. So I made you this still life. We love you so much,” he wrote.
Despite Forbes later revealing that Kim isn’t a billionaire just yet (though she’s estimated to be worth about $900 million), fans slammed the rapper’s poor wording and timing in the wake of the global pandemic that has seen many around the world lose jobs and suffer financially.
One even referenced a famous line uttered by Kourtney Kardashian on Keeping Up With The Kardashians remarking: “Kim, there’s people that are dying. Redistribute your wealth. No one needs a billion dollars.”
With the US election fast approaching, Kanye West still wants to win as a write-in candidate, i.e. someone whose name is not pre-printed on the ballot.
Though Kim was previously “supportive” of his goals, the mother-of-four alluded to his presidential bid when she made a rare statement about Kanye’s diagnosis with bipolar disorder following his alarming series of tweets earlier this year.
Writing on Instagram, Kim said: “Living with bipolar disorder does not diminish or invalidate his dreams and his creative ideas, no matter how big or unobtainable they feel to some. That is part of his genius and as we have all witnessed, many of his big dreams have come true.”