In an article on her app titled “The Inspiration Behind My Aaliyah Costume,” Kim Kardashian addressed the blackface backlash she received over her Halloween depiction of the 90s late music icon.
Baby Girl Aaliyah pic.twitter.com/5GUHkNJgNi
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) October 29, 2017
“When I was creating the costume, I wasn’t dressing up as a race or culture but rather as a woman whom I will always admire. I play every kind of genre of music in my home and I like for my kids to be exposed to many different artists. For me, it’s always about love and respect. I loved that Kourtney was Michael Jackson for one of her costumes and that my son was Axel Rose.We don’t see color in my home. We were paying homage to people and artists we love and respect–it’s that simple.”
While we can all agree that the Kardashians put the “k” in cultural appropriation and that Kim’s “colorblind” comment was side-eye worthy ( with two black kids and a black husband, let’s hope she sees some color), the costume call-outs were unfair seeing as the media celebrity wasn’t actually dressed in blackface. Blackface, a form of racism originating from reconstruction era minstrel shows, involves painting oneself to look “black” and dressing up as a caricature of black people. Blackface is always racist because the costume reduces black people to a joke and a negative stereotype. And yet it’s a costume that non-black people are all too eager to wear during Halloween (just search up the words “blackface” and “Halloween” on google). Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian skipped the black paint and botched spray tan and instead focused on replicating Aaliyah’s “Try Again” makeup and outfit, making herself an example of “how not to be racist” for a change.
