Kim Kardashian slammed over "offensive" face masks for black women
20 May 2020, 11:02 | Updated: 5 October 2020, 12:28
Kim has launched a range of non-medical face masks through her shapewear brand SKIMS.
Kim Kardashian is facing backlash for marketing black non-medical face masks as 'nude' for dark-skinned women.
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The reality TV, 39, recently launched a range of non-medical face masks through her shapewear brand SKIMS, where she describes the colours of the products as "5 shades of Nudes".
Shop @SKIMS Face Masks in 5 shades of Nudes at https://t.co/Qsy51Sl2Sd. pic.twitter.com/BxyieouxJG
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) May 16, 2020
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Kim, who has donated 10,000 of the protective masks to a coronavirus charity, wrote on on social media, "SKIMS is donating 10,000 Seamless Face Masks to the following charitable partners: Baby2Baby, Good+ Foundation, LA Food Bank, and National Domestic Workers Alliance."
However, despite the masks selling out in just an hour, people have criticised the brand as the dark-skinned woman modelling in the advertisement is seen wearing a black mask, which clearly doesn't match her actual skin tone.
"You do realize black people aren’t the color black like white people aren’t paper white?" wrote one Twitter user. "The other skin tones are fine but why couldn’t you make a dark brown color?"
"The nude shade for the Black model is inaccurate, offensive, and culturally out of touch," said another.
The nude shade for the Black model is inaccurate, offensive, and culturally out of touch.
— MARCEY LINDSEY (@MARCEYLINDSEY) May 16, 2020
You literally made the black models mask TOTALLY BLACK. You do realize black people aren’t the color black like white people aren’t paper white? The other skin tones are fine but why couldn’t you make a dark brown color?
— Liz (@wednesdaycxfe) May 16, 2020
The color black isn’t nude for black people but go off
— Alexisizzle (@alexisizzlle) May 16, 2020
Black women deserve more than your mediocrity & laziness! Take notes: pic.twitter.com/05SCdaKqa9
— Jerome Trammel (@MrJeromeTrammel) May 17, 2020
They know what they’re doing with the marketing because there’s a nude closer to the black model’s color on the website. But they used solid black just to get people riled up. Crazy.
— 学監 (@vxrnvn) May 16, 2020
Others have criticised the $25 price of the masks, while others have accused Kardashian of profiting from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Both Kardashian and SKIMS are yet to release a response to the backlash. This isn't the first time that Kim's shapewear brand has come under fire for being culturally insensitive.
Prior to its launch in 2019, Kim faced intense backlash for naming the brand 'Kimono', which is the name of a traditional Japanese dress.
After changing the name and rebranding to SKIMS, Kim issued an apology on social media, saying "When I announced the name of my shapewear line, I did so with the best intentions in mind.
"My brands and products are built with inclusivity and diversity at their core and after careful thought and consideration, I will be launching my Solutionwear brand under a new name."
