BENGALURU: How many Kardashians does it take to break the Internet? Just one with an oiled up posterior, apparently. Socialite and TV celebrity Kim Kardashian’s uninhibited appearance on Paper magazine’s cover got over 15 million views in just a couple of days. While she may not have broken the Internet, she sure has unleashed a frenzy of debate over what is after all just a body part.
The controversial cover picture has Kim wearing a black sequinned gown and a choker of pearls, opening a bottle of champagne and having it fill a glass perched comfortably on her ample derriere. And later in the week came a full frontal nude picture of the celebrity that the magazine captioned, “We know you came for the article. @KimKardashian #BreakTheInternet.” While the reality show star is often told off for not being a ‘real celebrity,’ the article speaks about how every aspect of Kim’s life is so meticulously planned and executed that she deserves credit.
“Imagine being filmed and photographed constantly, yet never saying anything seriously controversial or appearing unkempt. The effort involved seems torturous, impossible. And yet, though her life requires work of a sort -- roughly two hours of hair and makeup each day, regular meetings for her assorted businesses, wardrobe fittings, photo shoots, 5 am workouts -- you don’t get the sense that she is hiding or suppressing her true, private self,” writes Amanda Fortini in the article.
Minutes after the pictures were released, a storm of Kim Kardashian memes took over the Internet, and people began tweeting under the hashtags #BreakTheInternet and #FixTheInternet. While she was criticised for being an irresponsible mother by some, others supported her right to do with her body as she pleases.
The woman is a brand in herself and is known to have posed nude for magazine covers in the past. She stands unscathed under the white heat of media’s gaze and even a sex tape scandal (following which she vowed never to take off her clothes in front of a camera again) worked in her favour. It is no surprise then, that she signed up for a stunt that would ‘take the Internet by storm’. She may be perceived as less than classy or frivolous by some but Kim Kardashian is considered a fashion icon by many. And it’s time we conceded that she can be loved or hated, but not ignored.
What we can do instead is move on and read about how mankind just landed a probe on a comet.