Why Do People Hate Kylie Jenner?

Kylie Jenner is one of the most famous and influential people in the world today. As the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, she has grown up in front of the cameras on the hit reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

She is also an extremely successful businesswoman, having built a cosmetics empire with her massively popular lip kits and Kylie Cosmetics range. However, despite all her fame and success, Kylie Jenner is a hugely divisive figure and has many haters. There are several reasons why some people dislike or hate the makeup mogul.

Reasons Why People Hate Kylie Jenner

She is seen as fake and disingenuous

One of the main criticisms consistently leveled at Kylie Jenner is that she is fake. From accusations of excessive photoshopping of her Instagram snaps to suspicions that she has had surgery to alter her looks, many believe Kylie lacks authenticity.

She has admitted to fillers but denies having any plastic surgery procedures. However, her lips look very different now compared to her early teen years, leading some to think she is not being honest. There is also a sense that her image and persona are carefully curated and manufactured.

She oversexualizes herself and is a bad role model

Kylie Jenner frequently poses for provocative photographs on her Instagram account, leading some to feel she oversexualizes herself to gain attention. Combined with the fact she has millions of young female followers on social media, there is a concern that Kylie promotes an unhealthy idea of beauty standards and encourages young girls to grow up too quickly. The early emphasis on her lips and curves also adds to this. While Kylie should be able to post what she likes, some believe she has a responsibility as an influencer and should refrain from being too sexualized.

Her famous family and privilege

There is no doubt that Kylie Jenner’s fame and success are at least partly due to her family name. Keeping Up with the Kardashians launched when Kylie was just a child, giving her an enormous platform from an early age. Additionally, she had the resources and connections to easily establish a lucrative cosmetics company.

Her billionaire status at just 21 certainly ruffled some feathers. While she has undoubtedly worked hard, her privileged background is a key advantage, leaving some to feel she did not wholly earn her fortune and fame. There is a sense she has simply cashed in on her family’s name and opportunities.

Allegations of cultural appropriation

Kylie has faced backlash several times over the years for alleged cultural appropriation. This included accusations of appropriating black culture and aesthetics, as well as instances of wearing traditional styles and garments without proper cultural context or sensitivity.

There have also been complaints about her apparent adoption of traditionally black hairstyles and looks. While Kylie has brushed off most of these allegations, some feel she displays a lack of awareness and respect towards cultures beyond her own. The insincerity ties back to the view of her as fake.

The Forbes billionaire controversy

In 2019, Forbes ran a cover story declaring 21-year-old Kylie Jenner the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. However, this claim was later retracted, with Forbes stating that Kylie’s team had likely shown doctored tax returns overstating her earnings.

This caused a massive backlash and reinforced the belief that Kylie is dishonest and manipulative. People felt deceived over the questionable ‘self-made’ descriptor applied to someone born into fame and fortune. The whole saga added to the perception of Kylie as just a masterful self-promoter.

Her pursuit of perfection is problematic

Between her carefully curated social media presence, intense hiding from paparazzi post-pregnancy, and openness about only showing her best angles, Kylie Jenner sends the message that imperfections are unacceptable.

Some feel this promotion of physical ‘perfection’ is damaging, especially to young, impressionable fans. Life is not perfect, so some argue Kylie should use her powerful platform to spread more honest, inclusive messaging. There is a sense she fuels superficiality and obsession over appearance.

Perception she relies on men for relevance

Kylie has been in high-profile relationships with rappers Tyga and Travis Scott. She also has a child with Travis. Some criticize Kylie for seemingly relying on connections to famous men to further boost her fame and media attention.

There is a feeling she strategically uses relationships as part of her personal brand. Kylie additionally embraced the sexually-charged lyrics Travis wrote about her when she was still a teen. All of this adds to the belief Kylie Leverages sexuality and relationships to get ahead.

In Defense of Kylie Jenner

However, it is not all negative towards Kylie Jenner. There are two sides to every story. Here are some counterarguments in defense of the reality star:

• She is a self-made success story – while she had early privileges, she has worked extremely hard to build her fortune
• Her brand genuinely resonates with fans; she found a gap in the market.
• She should be able to openly celebrate her sexuality like anyone else.
• Most celebrities carefully curate their image; she is no different.
• She was very young during the Tyga relationship; this should be viewed sensitively.
• Photoshopping is standard practice in the industry.
• Although not perfect, she still provides a confident, business-savvy role model for young women.
• She gets unfairly criticized more than male stars over similar issues.
• Her cultural appropriation has often come from a place of appreciation rather than malice.

She has matured and learned from past mistakes

Like all young stars thrust into fame from an early age, Kylie has faced a steep learning curve under intense public scrutiny. As she has grown older, she has shown more maturity and nuance in her views. Her businesses have become more ethical and diverse. She donates to various charities and causes. No one is perfect, but the older Kylie indicates someone open to growth and learning.

Much criticism is rooted in sexism and double standards

Kylie breaking into the elite billionaire ranks as a young woman undoubtedly challenged traditional power structures. Similarly, she unapologetically owning her sexuality makes some uncomfortable. But compare the outrage over Kylie’s Forbes cover to the praise male counterparts like Mark Zuckerberg get for their billions. There is certainly a whiff of sexism in the disproportionate backlash towards her. People seem quick to cut down an ambitious young woman celebrating her success.

Conclusion

Kylie Jenner is undoubtedly a polarizing pop culture figure who draws intense criticism from some. Her manufactured image, privileged background, alleged cultural appropriation and sexualization are common reasons for the backlash towards her. However, she has also achieved huge success in business through hard work and savvy marketing.

With age she has shown growth and more social responsibility. Much of the disproportionate hate towards seems rooted in sexist double standards. While not perfect, like any human, the harshness of the hatred seems partly fuelled by her confident celebration of feminine power and sexuality in the elite business world.

Is Kylie Jenner really a ‘self-made’ billionaire?

No, most would agree Kylie Jenner is not truly ‘self-made’. She grew up on a hugely popular reality TV show, giving her fame and connections from childhood. She also had the resources and platform to easily launch a cosmetics company.

While she has clearly worked hard, her family privilege gave her major advantages over ordinary people trying to build wealth from nothing. However, her brand and marketing skills took these advantages to an entirely new level. So while not rags-to-riches, she does deserve credit for her business acumen.

Has Kylie Jenner had plastic surgery?

Kylie denies ever having any plastic surgery, besides temporary lip fillers. However, many speculate she has had more work done, including breast augmentation, butt lift, jaw shaving and nose job. Images from her youth compared to now show quite dramatic changes to her facial features and body proportions.

But as she started so young in the public eye, some changes are likely just natural maturation combined with puberty, makeup skills, weight loss and contouring. Overall there is no definitive proof, but the extent of her transformation at just 21 does suggest surgical enhancement beyond just fillers.

What evidence is there that Kylie Jenner photoshops her pictures?

There are several examples online of apparent photoshop slips in Kylie’s Instagram images. This includes bent lines and warped backgrounds in shots showing an exaggerated hourglass figure. Other posts have clearly warped walls or proportions that do not match her videos.

Kylie has even accidentally left in editing notes visible on uploaded photos before. While every celebrity photoshops to some degree, the extensive manipulation of Kylie’s body shape indicates major insecurity issues behind the perfect social media facade she presents.

Why was Kylie Jenner’s billionaire status revoked by Forbes?

Forbes originally declared Kylie the world’s youngest billionaire in 2019. But the next year, they retracted this claim after re-evaluating her financials and accusations of faked tax returns. Kylie’s team apparently showed documents that massively overestimated her earnings and net worth.

This seemed deliberately aimed at getting the ‘billionaire’ title and cover story. While Kylie disputed Forbes’ retraction, it reinforced perceptions of her as dishonest and desperate for validation. The whole saga damaged her brand’s credibility. However, most still acknowledge she is extremely wealthy, just not a billionaire yet as initially claimed.

Is it fair to call Kylie Jenner a bad role model?

Kylie Jenner is a controversial figure, but branding her a bad role model outright seems harsh. She built a huge company and became financially independent at a very young age – that can inspire work ethic in her fans. She is also confident in her sexuality in a way still rare for women. Yes, she promotes a filtered view of beauty standards.

But she can still be an aspirational businesswoman and remind girls to embrace their passions. While not perfect, as a young woman under constant scrutiny, some grace should be given over past mistakes. Her maturity and philanthropy work now indicate positive growth.

So in summary, while Kylie Jenner is certainly divisive and often attracts criticism, the reasons for the intense hatred towards her seem somewhat disproportionate. She is not perfect, but also not the worst role model either, especially as she continues to grow and learn in the public eye. Much of the outrage likely stems from discomfort with a young woman unapologetically capturing fame and power on her own terms.