Kim Kardashian is one of the most followed, reported and photographed celebrities around… and, as a result of her recent social media posts, soon none of us will be a stranger to any part of Kim Kardashian it seems. You’re probably aware of the photo that ‘broke the internet’ in 2014 when Kim bared her behind on the cover of Paper magazine and then posted the image online. Well, not content with breaking it once, Kim seems to have decided to break it twice, recently posting a series of racy snaps on Instagram that sent pulses through the roof and – in some cases – tempers flaring.
Now Kim has recently been named one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People on the Internet. So, when it comes to how to make the best use of social media for self promotion she’s kind of a great case study. The mix of family and sex, innocence and ruthless PR is perfectly suited to the contemporary digital age but when it comes to posting naked pics that aren’t part of a magazine photo shoot for your 63+ million followers, there are some out there who have a bit of a problem with it.
The first of the most recent photos appeared on 7 March, an image of Kim – pre-baby Saint – with blonde hair taking a naked selfie in a bathroom mirror, captioned with the words ‘When you’re like I have nothing to wear LOL.’ With more than one and a half million likes and 300,000 comments it was a stroke of genius in terms of directing attention Kim’s way. The photo received the kind of mixed response from Kim’s followers that you might expect – roughly divided into “you go girl you look great” and “cover up you’re a mother.” It also provoked a number of celebrities into getting involved and – another surprise – Kim actually replied to set them straight. Cue a Twitter spat of epic proportions and a follow up naked image from Kim captioned #liberated. So, what was said?
First up, Bette Midler, who said “If Kim wants us to see a part of her we’ve never seen, she’s gonna have to swallow the camera,” to which Kardashian responded, “hey @BetteMidler I know it’s past your bedtime but if you’re still up and reading this send nudes #justkidding.” Ouch. Then Piers Morgan jumped in with, “‘I know the old man’s $50 million in debt, Kim but this is absurd. Want me to buy you some clothes?” LOLZ Piers. Kim did not find it funny and responded with, “hey @piersmorgan never offer to buy a married woman clothes. thats on some ashley madison type sh*t #forresearch.” A Twitterstorm ensued and in the end it was left to Myley Cyrus of all people to issue a stop order in the form of, “Dear women, you ALL are acting tacky AF!”
Kim has since taken out an ad to explain her images and others have come forward to justify their comments in a way that the character limit on Twitter doesn’t allow anyone to do. Whatever your view of the situation, there’s no denying that Kim loves the drama, and that she is a master of creating and channeling it for her own ends. If you need any advice because you’re wondering if this is the way to go then of course please do drop me a line.
