Backlash to Kim Kardashian‘s 40th birthday party on a private island amid the COVID-19 pandemic continued as memes savaging the reality star spread on social media.
Kardashian posted photos of the maskless event to multiple social media platforms on Tuesday. She said the pandemic had helped her and her guests appreciate the “simple luxury” of partying on a private island, while insisting that everyone who attended the “surprise” party had taken precautions to ensure they were virus-free.
“After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time,” Kardashian tweeted alongside the photos.
After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time. pic.twitter.com/cIFP7Nv5bV
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 27, 2020
A torrent of backlash quickly followed, with Kardashian being described on Twitter as “disgustingly tone deaf” and “grotesque” for flaunting the gathering while others experience far harsher realities due to the public health crisis. The backlash continued later the same day when a series of memes criticizing Kardashian were shared extensively.
“After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time,” actor Zach Braff echoed Kardashian in a tweet accompanied by a picture of Ja Rule and Billy McFarland, organizers of 2017’s Fyre Festival debacle.
After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time. pic.twitter.com/JxuJCuQCoY
— Zach Braff (@zachbraff) October 28, 2020
CNN anchor Jake Tapper repeated Kardashian’s words in a tweet sharing an animated gif of characters from The Brady Bunch awkwardly posing and dancing in Hawaiian hula skirts.
The meme posted by Matt DeGroot, Crooked Media’s director of production, included Kardashian’s words with an animated gif of a scene from Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
after 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine i surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time pic.twitter.com/ha41gJODk7
— Matt DeGroot (@mattdegroot) October 28, 2020
Streaming giant Netflix joined in by tweeting their own version of the meme that included a still from the 2010 Martin Scorsese film Shutter Island.
After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time. pic.twitter.com/92vxOQwUIQ
— NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) October 27, 2020
The official account of The Hunger Games posted the meme with an illustration of a scene from the post-apocalyptic franchise.
After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time. pic.twitter.com/jLmO3e94iW
— The Hunger Games 🔥 (@TheHungerGames) October 28, 2020
Journalist Ronan Farrow’s meme included a detail from the Hieronymous Bosch painting The Garden of Earthly Delights, depicting a scene of chaotic indulgence.
After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time. pic.twitter.com/iIM232lhnI
— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) October 28, 2020
Photos from the birthday party show Kardashian and her affluent guests, including siblings and her mother Kris Jenner, gathering closely amid a tropical landscape. No masks are pictured and the group does not appear to be practicing social distancing. It is not clear whether the group violated California’s ban on nonessential travel to attend the event.
Newsweek reached out to Kardashian’s publicists for comment.
