Khloé Kardashian Strips Down On IG Live To Squash Photoshop Accusations
Khloé Kardashian is addressing the photo editing controversy head-on
After a seemingly unfiltered, unedited photo of Khloé Kardashian made the internet rounds this week, fans were a bit baffled when the Kardashian PR machine went into overdrive to have the photo removed from the internet, even going so far as to request that individuals and outlets take the photo down. Now, Kardashian herself is addressing the controversy head-on, taking to Instagram to share both photos and a statement about how the constant scrutiny over her body and appearance has made her feel for more than a decade in the public eye.
Kardashian shared two videos of herself — one stripped down, and another in a casual sweatsuit — to highlight her body “unretouched and unfiltered,” as she noted in a statement. Directly addressing the bikini photo, she added, “The photo that was posted this week is beautiful. But as someone who has struggled with body image her whole life, when someone takes a photo of you that isn’t flattering in bad lighting of doesn’t capture your body the way it is after working so hard to get it to this point — and then shares to to the world — you should have every right to ask for it to not be shared,” she wrote. “Regardless of who you are.”
It seems the latest speculation serves as another example of the “pressure, constant ridicule and judgment” Kardashian has faced her “entire life to be perfect and meet others’ standards of how [she] should look has been too much to bear.”
Addressing things she’s seemingly heard and read about herself over the years, she wrote, “‘Khloé is the fat sister.’ ‘Khloé is the ugly sister.’ ‘Her dad must not be her real dad because she looks so different.’ ‘The only way she could have lost that weight must have been from surgery.’ Should I go on?”
Kardashian explained that she’s not “asking for sympathy,” but instead, “I am asking to be acknowledged for being human.”
“It is almost unbearable trying to live up to the impossible standards that the public have set for me,” she added. “For over a decade now in photos, every single flaw and imperfection has been micro-analyzed and made fun of to the smallest detail and I am reminded of them every day by the world. And when I take that criticism to use as motivation to get myself in the best shape of my life and to even help other with the same struggles, I am told I couldn’t have done it through hard work and I must have paid for it all.”
“You never quite get used to being judged and pulled apart and told how unattractive one is,” she explained. “But I will say, if you hear anything enough then you start to believe it. This is how I have been conditioned to feel, that I am not beautiful enough just being me.”
The reality star did say that she loves “a good filter, good lighting and an edit here and there,” comparing photo enhancement tools to makeup, manicures, and high heels to “present myself to the world the way [she wants] to be seen.”
She concluded by saying she will “continue to do [so] unapologetically,” adding, “My body, my image and how I choose to look and what I want to share is my choice. It’s not for anyone to decide or judge what is acceptable anymore.”
FWIW, I think Khloé looks amazing every which way, filtered or unfiltered, edited or unedited. Here’s hoping that her post will serve as a gentle reminder to internet trolls that it really doesn’t matter how famous the person on the other end of your vitriol might be — they are still a person with feelings and deserve to be treated with kindness and respect, no matter what.
