Student of the legal arts and potential future First Lady Kimberly Kardashian West has not, historically, counted reading the room among her many talents. But Kim achieved levels of tone deafness not seen since the literally atonal “Jam (Turn It Up)†when she posted a Twitter thread documenting her lavish destination birthday party on a private island. This display of exorbitant wealth and privilege during a time of record unemployment and disease is made all the more blatantly icky by Kim’s couching it all in the language of gratitude. The first couple of posts start out harmless enough. Kim announces that she is “40 and feeling so humbled and blessed†and that she’s happy to be sharing her birthday with the people in her photos, including her family and friends.
Kim enters dicey territory in the third tweet in the thread, in which she writes, “Before COVID, I don’t think any of us truly appreciated what a simple luxury it was to be able to travel and be together with family and friends in a safe environment.†The latter half of that sentence, sure. But the first half is where Kim gives away her whole diamond-encrusted hand: For those people who couldn’t casually constantly travel, for whom travel is a special rarity, it’s not a “simple†luxury at all, and it was certainly truly appreciated. We take umbrage with the use of “us†in that sentence. She should have said “any of me†or “any of us billionaires.â€
Things get bad in the last two tweets, in which Kim explains, “After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time.†Kim’s version of “normal†includes swimming with whales. “Normal†for the rest of us never has. Kim is humbled because “I realize that for most people, this is something that is so far out of reach right now,†and the “right now†of it all is where people are taking offense.
Of course, this led to everyone filling the timeline with memes quote-tweeting the “private island†bit with pictures of sinister islands from throughout pop culture:
Did Kim learn nothing from the last time people were dragged for partying on a private island during corona?