Many are not happy with Kylie Jenner’s latest photo shoot for Interview magazine.
The 18-year-old, looking like a sex doll covered in latex while on a wheelchair, has sparked online backlash as well as from disability advocates.
The magazine came out on November 30 and Kylie received some heat on social media with critics saying that her photo shoot is very offensive especially for people with disabilities.
In the magazine spread, the “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star appears stiff in many photos along with a blank expression that likens her to a sex doll.
The youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan was photographed by Steven Klein and is seen wearing handicap devices and some S&M type of clothing and accessories.
In one shot, she is seen in a wooden crate while in another shot, a man carries her on his side like a package with her arms and legs outstretched.
Huffington Post notes that while the sexualized nature of the images generated some commentary, it’s the photos where the reality star was posing in a wheelchair, the cover included, that have irked many people.
The reactions were not limited to social media. Emily Smith Beitiks of Longmore Institute of Disability in San Francisco spoke to CNN and said that the concept for the magazine shoot is deeply disturbing for a lot of reasons. People with disabilities are seen as powerless and Jenner just reinforced that.
Atlanta writer Kayla Whaley took her concern on Twitter saying that the celebrity gets paid and praised to wear the shallowest possible illusion of her disability for a few hours while people who sit on a wheelchair for their lifetime gets denied of sexuality and desirability.
Lady Gaga has received similar criticism a few years back when she performed in a wheelchair, but Beitiks notes that the displeasure with Jenner’s images is much worse.
Beitiks adds that the reality star is being objectified to look like a sex doll and the wheelchair is an added element of passivity they’re reading on.
Twitter users are asking for an apology from Kylie or the magazine, especially to those who are disabled although some of them doubt that it will happen.
Some Twitter users even said that in the future, magazine concepts should include people living with disabilities as well as creative discussions about their art, fashion, and media exposure regardless of their condition.
The SnapChat queen star has yet to address the growing controversy, but it’s not the first she’s been criticized over an offensive photoshoot.
Last April, Jenner was accused of wearing blackface in what was meant to be a futuristic looking shot.
Three months later, teen star Amandla Stenberg called out Jenner for cultural appropriation after she posted a photo of herself wearing cornrows on Instagram.
While Tyga’s girlfriend hasn’t given a reaction to the backlash, Interview magazine has given a statement. E! News reports that Interview is proud of the tradition of working with great artists and empowering them to realize their distinct and bold visions.
Jenner’s cover references the British artist Allen Jones. The object of the photoshoot is placing Kylie in a variety of positions of power and control and exploring her image as an object of vast media scrutiny.
The publication clarifies that Jenner’s cover is their Art Issue and it celebrates a variety of women who are both creators and subject of their artistic work.
The representative for the magazine added that the feature aims to unpack the reality TV star’s status as both an engineer and object of attention
Interview promises that the purpose of using the wheelchair in the photoshoot was only for the means of expressions and not to insult nor degrade those physically incapable.
The California beauty’s hair was silky black in her photo shoot, but she recently unveiled her newly colored locks in time for the Holiday season.