Reality check for Kardashian after ‘humble’ party on private island
WHEN Kim Kardashian West, the reality TV star, shared pictures of her Covidproofed 40th birthday celebrations on a private island, she imagined others less privileged would share in her joy.
But with coronavirus cases soaring to an all-time high back home in mainland America and strict restrictions in place preventing people from travelling, many were not too amused.
The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star posted to her social media a string of “tone deaf ” glamorous photos of herself with family and friends sipping cocktails in a mansion and by a pool to “pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time”.
She explained how guests were asked to undergo two weeks of quarantine and “multiple health screenings” before being “surprised” by the trip to an undisclosed private island, as she tried to reassure her tens of millions of fans that she was being careful.
“We danced, rode bikes, swam near whales, kayaked, watched a movie on the beach and so much more,” she wrote on Instagram and Twitter. “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.”
According to the New York Post, the weekend stay at the Brando Resort, Marlon Brando’s former private island in French Polynesia, cost $1 million (£770,000), which included the cost of chartering an 88-seat Boeing 777. Villas on the island cost up to $20,000 a night.
Followers who took issue with the “humble” holiday posted less glitzy pictures from their own two-week quarantines. Others replied with pictures of a mass grave site for coronavirus victims in New York’s Hart Island.
Ronan Farrow, the journalist son of actress Mia Farrow, pasted Kardashian’s words over Hieronymus Bosch’s depiction of Hell in his painting The Garden of Earthly Delights. New York’s Museum of Modern Art felt that Matisse’s painting of a circle of figures Dance best fit the description.
Kat Kinsman, a senior editor at Food & Wine, posted a brutal reproof. “You know what would have felt normal for me, Kim? Not having to say goodbye to my mother over Facetime as she was dying of Covid,” she tweeted. “Rubbing this in our faces is cruel & clueless.” Kardashian turned 40 on Oct 21.
The star was also criticised for organising the getaway at a time when many governments are advising against nonessential travel, and as the economic impact of the pandemic causes millions to be put under financial pressure.
Tuesday was the first time that the rolling seven-day average of new daily case counts in the US topped 70,000. More than 8.7 million coronavirus cases have been reported nationwide since February, and at least 226,000 people have died of it.