Jenner faces backlash for donation campaign
Kylie Jenner may sometimes come across as one of the least offensive of the “Karjenner” sisters — certainly in comparison to Kim Kardashian, with her sex tape, repeated allegations of blackface and cultural appropriation, flamboyant marriage to Kanye West and COVID-19 birthday extravagance.
It also doesn’t seem as if Kylie Jenner has made nearly as many strange, tone-deaf choices as her supermodel sister Kendall Jenner, most infamous for her infamous Pepsi ad.
Jenner, 23, has been involved in her share of controversies, including this past weekend when the self-proclaimed “billionaire” cosmetics mogul asked her 222 million Instagram followers to donate to a GoFundMe effort to help cover the cost of her makeup artist’s bills.
The mega-wealthy Jenner, who reportedly earns around $1.2 million per Instagram post, donated $5,000 herself toward the $60,000 or more that Samuel Rauda needs for surgery following a car accident last week, Page Six and other outlets reported.
In an Instagram story, linking to the GoFundMe campaign, Jenner wrote:
“May God watch over you and protect you @makeupbysamuel. Everyone take a moment to say a prayer for Sam who got into an accident this past weekend. And swipe up to visit his families (sic) go fund me.”
But Jenner’s request to her followers blew up, with fans and critics alike expressing disbelief and outrage with the hashtag “#tonedeaf,” the Daily Beast and CNN reported. Fans and critics pointed out that Kylie Jenner is so rich she could easily cover her friend’s medical bills herself.
“@KylieJenner! Why don’t you ‘go fund’ your friends financial needs rather than asking your fans to do it. You know, your fans that are anxiously waiting for their $1,400 check to drop so they can by food and pay bills,” one person wrote, the Daily Beast reported. Another wrote, “Kylie jenner bought her toddler a $15,000 handbag but is asking her fans for money.”
Representatives for Jenner contacted media outlets to argue that her intentions had been misunderstood. After Jenner helped bring attention to Rauda’s situation with her $5,000 donation, the campaign increased its original request from $10,000 to $60,000.