Kendall Jenner has been accused of photoshopping some racy snaps from a recent photoshoot that subsequently sparked "body insecurity" posts from her fans.
The controversy was ignited when Jenner shared a number of pictures on her social media platforms from her photoshoot for sister Kim Kardashian's Valentine's SKIMS collection.
The pics show Kendall, 25, wearing a red micro thong two-piece swimsuit, and they quickly went viral, amassing more than 12 million likes on Instagram.
In response to the images, some of Kendall's fans took to social media to share posts in which they were overly critical about their own physical appearance.
One person wrote: "How can I ever be ok with my body when Kendall Jenner is out here looking like that?"
However, per Buzzfeed, a number of social media users appear to have reacted badly to the images of a slim and svelte Kendall, claiming that they promote an unrealistic beauty standard.
For instance, one Twitter user wrote: "Idk who needs to hear this but stop comparing yourself to Kendall Jenner.
"She has money, surgery, lighting, photographers, editors, nutritionists, personal trainers, makeup artists etc. You have an iPhone camera. She looks unreal but that’s her job. [sic]"
Another person stated: "Kendall got work done on her body.
"I'm not saying it's impossible to be born with that body but she got fillers on her hips and a smaller waist to crate an hourglass illusion, plus she poses very well and photoshops. pls don't compare yourself when it isn't even real. [sic]"
Some have even gone so far as to accuse the reality TV star of photoshopping the images, or editing them to make herself look better.
For instance, one person wrote: "it’s not body shaming to tell ppl that kendall is photoshopped in those pictures, like yes she is sexy but she also...quite literally doesn’t look like that irl.
"no one is built naturally that way but giving young teenage girls the impression kendall does is so harmful. [sic]"
Another person wrote: "Kendall is obviously beautiful, but it’s obvious that the second photo is edited to make her legs longer and waist smaller.
"I don’t get why they edit her like that because she doesn’t need it. But I hate the fact that people try to normalise photoshopping your body."
However, others have moved in to defend Kendall.
For instance, one person wrote: "I think Kendall Jenner's photos are genuine but even if they are edited, her body is a private body and can do what it wants.
"If you don't like what Kendall Jenner does with her body and photos, build your own body and photos."
Meanwhile, another person added: "I mean I am guilty of using filters from time to time! Heck my profile picture is fr Snapchat.
"I try not to use filters, but I GUARANTEE if I was shooting a campaign I would do want to look AMAZING, & edit the heck out of my pictures! Idk, I wish I could say otherwise but I can't. [sic]"
Kendall herself has now stepped forward and appeared to address the photos personally, in a tweet made to her fans.
Writing to her 30.9 million followers on Twitter, Kendall stated:
"i am an extremely lucky girl. appreciative of all that i have. but i want you to know that i have bad days too and that i hear you! you are beautiful just the way you are!!! it's not always as perfect as it may seem. [sic]"
So, was Kendall justified in sharing these pictures? Or is she promoting unrealistic standards? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
