Kim Kardashian is no stranger to making incendiary comments. Whether she's "breaking the internet", posing in some NSFW ensemble, or promoting appetite suppressing lollipops to her young audience, seemingly everything the reality television star does is divisive.
Kim was slammed on social media earlier this year when fans accused her of glorifying anorexia after posting a series of Instagram stories. In one of the videos, Kendall Jenner tells her, "No, I'm really concerned, I don't think you're eating. Like, you look so skinny." "Whaaaaat?!" Kim explains in response, before stating "Oh my god, thank you!"
In one of the later clips, Kim insists that she's "not that skinny", despite noting that she was "down to 199 pounds". Her younger sister, Khloé, then goes onto inform her that "your hair extensions, your ass, your tits, everything, they're heavy," prior to describing her waist as "anorexic".
Now, the mother-of-three has issued an apology for her remarks.
"I honestly, looking back in having said that, I 100 per cent completely understand where people would be coming from that felt that way," she explained during her appearance on Ashley Graham's new podcast, Pretty Big Deal.
"So my intention is never to offend anyone and I really, you know, apologise if I offended anyone, because an eating disorder is – I know people that have serious eating disorders that have been in and out of the hospital for 15 years, close people. So I’ve like, been through, I have experienced it enough to have, like, known better," she continued.
"And I think, especially my fans and everyone that was watching was supportive, like, 'OK, look, like, maybe you guys shouldn’t have said that but I know what you were saying.'"
The 37-year-old has been accused of promoting eating disorders before, after she shared an advertisement for an "appetite suppressant lollipop" on Instagram.
The image, which shows Kim sucking on a red lollipop, is an endorsement for Flat Tummy Co, a company which sells "detox" teas and shakes as meal replacements. But given that her audience includes impressionable young girls - many of whom regard her as a "role model" - it's a highly irresponsible move to make, and the backlash, which Kim later described as "literally unreal", was certainly intense.
"I, like you, am the mother of two daughters and I think promoting a product like this is deeply irresponsible on your part Kim," one Instagram user wrote, while another corroborated: "Please tell me this is a joke and you wouldn’t actually promote an appetite suppressant with how much influence you have. Surely you would recommend a healthy lifestyle like @kourtneykardash and @khloekardashian with young people already under pressure to look a certain way this just promotes eating disorders?!"
Although the fact that Kim publicly acknowledged her harmful comments is indicative of progress, only time will tell if she's more mindful about such topics in the future.