Khloé Kardashian has been absolutely slaughtered on social media this week over what was no more than an ordinary, wholesome photo of her. A photo that she simply happened not to like. And crucially, one that she disliked enough to go above and beyond to scrub from the Internet.
Now, to all the naysayers, I'm going to go ahead and say that Khloé has every right to enforce the removal of said picture. And trust me, I'm not exactly backed up by the majority on this. At least based on the ongoing Twitter commentary on the whole debacle.
The consensus seems to be that it's a glaring double standard for the youngest Kardashian sister to advocate body positivity and in the same breath, threaten legal action against those sharing the "unflattering" photo of the reality star.
There's no denying that the photo in question is worlds away from her usual Instagram posts, which are thought to be heavily filtered and airbrushed. It's a natural-looking shot, which simply doesn't mesh well with her current image and her brand – and as she states, doesn't "capture [her] body the way it is after working so hard to get it to this point."
Now, while Khloé's reasoning may seem superficial on the face of it, you do have to dig a little deeper to find out where she's coming from. The 36-year-old reality star has always been mocked for her physical appearance. She's also a classic case of damned if you do, damned if you don't.
When the Good American founder was at her heaviest, she was compared unfavourably to her sisters. And years after losing the weight, she continues to get a slew of comments insisting that her body transformation can only have been the result of a cocktail of cosmetic procedures.
Yes, I know what you're thinking – she chose a life of wealth and fame and so she should just take the good with the bad. And to an extent that is already the case. As one of the most famous women on earth, she opens herself up to criticism, trolling, and slander every single day.
At the end of the day, she is only human, and if she is uncomfortable with having a photo out there that was shared without her consent, can we really blame her for that?
Now, you don't have to listen to me on this, but do take it straight from the woman herself. I mean, she can explain her own reasoning far better than I can.
Yesterday (April 7), Khloé posted a very lengthy, heartfelt statement to Instagram in response to criticism she received. And unless you have a heart of stone, you should be able to empathise with her – at least somewhat.
She wrote: "As someone who has struggled with body image her whole life, when someone takes a photo of you that isn't flattering in bad lighting or doesn't capture your body the way it is after working so hard to get it to this point – and then shares it to the world – you should have every right to ask for it to not be shared – regardless of who you are."
The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star went on to describe the "pressure, constant ridicule and judgment" she has endured as far as her looks are concerned. She even went on to say that it has become too much for her to bear.
Khloé confided in her followers: "I'm not going to lie. It's almost unbearable trying to live up to the impossible standards that the public have all set for me."
Over the last decade or so, the mom-of-one has said she believes "every single flaw and imperfection has been micro-analyzed and made fun of to the smallest detail and I am reminded of them every day by the world."
She shared the statement with her 136 million followers on the platform in the form of four whole note pages and even went to the extent of including topless footage in order to quash photoshop rumours.
It's evident from the sheer effort she made to get her message across that this is very important to her.
Does it seem overzealous? Yes. But does it also make sense given her lifestyle and her history with trolling? Also yes.
A less than flattering photo of yourself may not be that big a deal to you, but it is all relative. Your photos are likely not going to be shared all over the world and ridiculed to nth degree.
It also wouldn't be unreasonable for you, as an ordinary person, to expect someone who has shared a photo of you without your say so to take it down.
Ultimately, I think anyone with an ounce of empathy should be able to understand why someone – regardless of their overall status – would want to protect themselves from unwarranted criticism.
Because an unedited, unfiltered photo may just be a mere picture to you, but to Khloé Kardashian, it represents something a lot more painful and something that is likely to open her up to a whole new level of trolling.
