Editor's note: The video above is from March.
Kim Kardashian West shared photos of her private island birthday bash Tuesday as the reality television show star and business mogul turned 40, amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in many areas. Memes and comments have filled social media criticizing and mocking the perceived distastefulness and the timing of it all.
Kardashian wrote on Twitter acknowledging that she was "privileged" to be able to vacation like this during a pandemic. And though Kardashian said that she recognizes the trip was “so far out of reach” for most, many criticized the flaunting of wealth and audacity of the trip's appearance. Photos of the getaway were also posted on Kardashian's Instagram page.
70s rock legend Peter Frampton replied to Kardashian’s Twitter post writing, “Are you that insensitive you don’t realise this is not what the majority of people during the worst covid spike yet want to hear?” Frampton went on to write, “People are going to food banks not private islands.”
The memes making fun of the trip started to rack up Tuesday night and into Wednesday with some prominent names in entertainment and the arts highlighting how out of touch the event appeared.
Writer Dana Schwartz had a turn with an image from the movie "Jurassic Park" and a quote from Kardashian's tweet thread.
And the trend continued...
Prominent investigative journalist Ronan Farrow posted lines from Kardashian's Twitter thread, poking fun at the scene with an image of a work by Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch's depiction of Hell called "The Garden of Earthly Delights."
Even the Museum of Modern Art in New York took their turn at poking fun by tweeting her words with an image of Henri Matisse’s work "Dance."
Kardashian reportedly had been previously planning the birthday trip which was speculated to be somewhere in the Caribbean, Page Six reported. But as of Tuesday it was unclear where the the reality star and her guests ended up.
Kardashian said everyone involved took necessary precautions to prepare writing, "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."
But the reception on Twitter continued to be negative from many with one user writing, "Good for you. I lost four months of pay, still tied up with unemployment and have seen a significant drop in future earnings. I’m helping my daughters with childcare and virtual school for my granddaughter. Still haven’t gotten my 2019 tax return. Glad you had fun."
Kim Kardashian's husband, rapper Kanye West, did not appear to be in any of the photographs and possibly did not go on the trip, according to reports.
West, who was recently interviewed by host Joe Rogan during an episode of his podcast about his presidential ambitions, has asked voters to vote for him by writing in his name on ballots. The move has not been welcomed by some in Hollywood, like actress Jennifer Aniston who recently wrote on Instagram, "It's not funny to vote for Kanye. I don't know how else to say it. Please be responsible."
