Irresponsible advertising preys on the weak
IF Kim Kardashian is good at one thing, it’s getting the attention of the world’s media and this week she did it once again, only it went down like a lead balloon. Sometimes, one would wonder who advises celebrities of this level, and who was responsible for the ridiculous ad campaign that she agreed to - peddling appetite suppressants in the form of lollipops.
There she was on Instagram, a social media platform on which she has 111 million followers, telling her adoring fans to go and buy these items.
I cannot believe that anyone such a position of power could be so morally bankrupt.
This is a woman who commands hundreds of thousand of dollars for every item she posts online. She has her pick of companies to work with and she can afford to say no to featuring such content.
As another commentator observed in recent days, she must not think there is anything wrong with encouraging her followers - most of whom are young women - to use appetite suppressants as a way to stay in shape.
Anyone who believes Kim Kardashian or any of her family maintain their figures by sucking on a lollipop are clearly impressionable and vulnerable and shouldn’t be exposed to such content.
This could be a massive trigger to somebody with an eating disorder and someone with such vast influence should know better.
How refreshing would it be for the like of the Kardashians to promote actual healthy eating and exercise, rather than dodgy fads which have nothing to do with health and everything to do with the dollar.
The post received such backlash that it was later removed but it is a shame that it even needed to be spelled out how dam- aging such influence could potentially be on a young woman or even a child who is struggling with body and food-related issues.
It is utterly ridiculous and misleading to encourage anybody to use appetite suppressants to help them to limit their food intake.
We have an appetite for a reason. Our bodies need food - it’s that simple, and wouldn’t be refreshing to see a person who so many young women look up to, giving them real and responsible advice and encouragement, not using their naivety and vulnerability to make money.