As a business woman and pop culture superstar, Kim Kardashian’s success if often criticized by people who accuse her of trying to mirror the image of a black woman. In a recent interview with I-D, Kim addressed the various cultural appropriation claims, from the rebranding of her shape wear line, to wearing matching cornrows with her daughter North.
While Kim has often been called out for her physical appearance, she told Jeremy O. Harris of I-D that she has been trying to navigate being politically correct while raising black children.
“Obviously, I would never do anything to appropriate any culture. But I have in the past got backlash from putting my hair in braids and I understand that,” Kim said. “Honesty, a lot of the time it comes from my daughter asking us to do matching hair. And I’ve had these conversations with her the are like, ‘Hey, maybe this hairstyle would be better on you and not me.'”
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Kim went on to explain that she has put her best foot forward to inform her children about their own culture as well as her Armenian background.
“But I’ve learned and grown over the years, and figured out good ways to communicate with all my kids about all this. I’ve definitely learned over time, and I’e 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.”
Similarly, Kim spoke on her experience with being called out for the name of her shape wear brand that she thought was just a play on words. She explained that ‘Kimono,’ the original name, was just a play on her name and her appreciation for Japanese culture.
“I came up with the Kimono name because it was a play on my name, and because I was so inspired by Japanese culture,” she said. “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.”
Despite the criticism, Kim has managed to amass a great deal of wealth and has brought her entire family with her.
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