Days after Kim Kardashian shared a series of racy and nearly-naked photos on Instagram, people are debating whether the reality star can be considered a good role model for the youth.
Undoubtedly, Kardashian is one of the most influential people in the world, and has amassed over 107 million followers on Instagram and nearly 59 million followers on Twitter. So it’s fair to say that when the Queen of the selfie posts something on social media, it never goes unnoticed.
Some believe that Kim K’s raunchy Instagram snaps promote body confidence. Others, meanwhile, blast the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star for promoting an unrealistic body image.
Jessica Cunningham, a former Apprentice star, is firmly in the latter camp. Appearing at This Morning on Thursday, 30-year-old reality star took a swipe at Kardashian for promoting an “unrealistic body image” to young girls, according to the Daily Mail.
Cunningham’s criticism toward one of the most popular woman in the world came in response to Kardashian’s recent social media activity, which saw the reality star strip down to underwear, and in some photos even put her bare breasts on display.
Although Cunningham says it’s “fantastic” that Kim K is so body confident, she believes that her half-naked and topless snaps are inappropriate for social media, especially when the reality star’s Instagram account boasts over 107 million followers the vast majority of whom are young and impressionable girls.
In fact, Cunningham claims she had witnessed firsthand the consequences of Kardashian’s controversial Instagram activity. The mother of three revealed that the 13-year-old daughter of her friend had sent a nude photo to a boy at her school. When her mother confronted the girl, she allegedly attempted to justify her actions by saying, “Kim Kardashian does it!”
“For people who have children, 13 and 14 year olds have phones and social media and will copy,” the reality star told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. “But it’s an unrealistic body image.”
The former Apprentice star went on to question how many of Kardashian’s followers have over $100,000 to spend on plastic surgeries that would transform their bodies to look like Kim K.
Cunningham’s comments sparked a debate on social media, with hundreds of people flooding Twitter to defend Kim Kardashian for posting naked snaps on Instagram and promoting body confidence.
it’s a tricky one but i don’t think it’s fair to blame Kim at all, she’s a 37 year old woman who has the right to post whatever she wants & she never signed up to be a role model, i think it’s OUR responsibility to teach young girls how and when it’s appropriate to act in terms
— em (@perryftprepon) January 30, 2018
Kim never said she wanted to be a role model to anyones children. the fact that parents have to blame someone else for how their children act just shows how bad they are at raising their kids????
— yajaira✨ (@Yajairalala) January 30, 2018
Demonising celebrities doesn't sit well with me personally, I think parents needs to take more responsibility for what their children are viewing, monitoring the apps they download and restricting what they can and can't do online.
— Todd Kraines (@JamieRhijan) January 30, 2018
Kim K is a reality show star whose claim to fame is her sex appeal and a sextape that is currently available for purchase online. People suddenly expecting her to be a role model or help them raise their kids by promoting certain values for them is ridiculous
— Tatenda (@TerryIsRight) January 31, 2018
Or maybe parents should be monitoring who their kids follow? Kim shouldn’t have to alter what she posts just because some people don’t want to pay attention to what their kids are doing. She didn’t create her Instagram for kids, it was for herself.
— George (@GeorgiaS95) January 31, 2018