Welcome back to the Kardashian Dispatch—I mean, Nepo Baby of the Week. After two lackluster seasons of The Kardashians, the Hulu show is finally picking up steam, in that the family is giving us at least one delusional soundbite or desperate PR tactic to mock on Twitter each episode. It’s all you can really ask for from them at this point.
A couple of weeks ago, we got Kim’s “you stole my wedding country” monologue. In the same episode, in the midst of Kanye West’s antisemitism scandal, Scott Disick goes to Kris Jenner’s house wearing a Star of David necklace—she points it out as soon as he walks in the door—to discuss throwing his and Kourtney’s son Mason a bar mitzvah. Real smooth!
This week, the women are setting the record straight on their roles in perpetuating modern beauty standards and practically inventing “Instagram Face.” But it’s Kylie’s comments about plastic surgery, in particular, that have pissed off the internet.
The latest episode opens with Kourtney going to Kylie’s house so she can do her glam. For what exactly? We aren’t even told. Khloé eventually joins them and starts complaining about her hair, to which Kourtney clunkily attempts to segue the conversation. “I do think you should be confident…even in your imperfections,” she says gracelessly. “I was just thinking about the beauty… standards… in the world today.”
“I just feel like we have a huge influence,” Kylie chimes in. “What are we doing with our power?”
None of the sisters really wrestle with the question. Instead, they blame “society” for instilling negative body image in them, thus influencing all of the sisters to alter their appearances. It’s a fair enough point. I feel like critics of the Kardashians in this regard often assume that their goal in changing their bodies or editing photos is to make other women feel bad about themselves. No one really considers that they’re trying to navigate an ageist, fatphobic world like the rest of us. Obviously, being in the spotlight and having access to expensive beauty procedures means they can tackle their insecurities more aggressively. That said, they should still give the sheer amount of influence they have in the world, like, a second of thought.
It’s also hard not to raise an eyebrow while listening to Kylie speak on this topic. First, the 26 year old says she feels sad when she sees girls on social media “fully editing” their photos. What level of Facetune-ing is concerning, and what is not? Also, this family single-handedly keeps BuzzFeed running by Photoshopping their selfies poorly every other week, so save it! Then, Kylie sets the record straight about what she’s had done to her face—while making no mention of her body. Contrary to popular belief, she says she actually hasn’t had plastic surgery.
“One of the biggest misconceptions about me was that I was this insecure child and I got so much surgery to change my whole face, which is false,” the Kylie Cosmetics founder says in a confessional. “I’ve only gotten fillers. And I feel like I don’t want that to be a part of my story. I will always want everyone to love themselves.”
This isn’t the first time Jenner has publicly clarified that she’s only had fillers. In 2019, ironically in Paper’s “Transformation” issue, she told the magazine that she was “terrified” of getting surgery but owned up to having fillers. Much like the response to that quote back then, many of her online critics have called bullshit on her most recent claims, reacting to side-by-side photos of her when she was a much paler, thin-lipped teenager versus the tan, sculpted face she has now. As someone who watches a bunch of makeup videos, I will say it’s totally buyable that Kylie just plumped up her face, started wearing heavier makeup, and got a spray tan. Also, the “before” photos people are circulating are from when she was, like, 12. We all looked terrible then!
Still, if this family is going to defend their right to change their looks at all, what’s the point in making these moral distinctions between getting fillers and invasive surgery, or partially and “fully” editing photos? I thought we were all navigating this beauty hellscape together. Now you guys are looking down on people who’ve had nose jobs?? Kylie’s remarks are especially ironic, as Khloé quickly mentions she got her nose done in the same scene. My messy brain also can’t help but think this is some sort of shade leveled at my nepo-baby queen Bella Hadid.
Before then, the internet had just been both celebrating and criticizing Kylie for reuniting with her former BFF Jordyn Woods, who was infamously exiled from the Kardashian-Jenner circle after Tristan Thompson made the moves on her. I’m not exactly sure what is prompting the youngest Jenner to address all of the things people have nagged her about for years right at the moment or if any of her tactics are actually working. At the very least, it’s funny to watch.
