When Apple unveiled its batch of emojis that allowed users to use characters that reflected their skin tones, joy reigned throughout social media — or at least until Khloe Kardashian decided to use the wrong flesh tone.
On Tuesday, Feb. 2, the “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star took to her Twitter account, and, for a reason unknown, posted seven dark-toned “shaking my head” emojis. The viral moment occurred when an online user corrected the reality star by responding to her post with seven white “SMH” emojis. The dragging commenced almost instantly.
Several folks reminded the 36-year-old that it was Black History Month and her antics will not be tolerated. One Twitter user jokingly asked the star, “Why are you using jordyn’s emojis ?”
“Stop. We know how badly you want to be a beautiful black woman, but never will. Using different skin tone with your emojis doesn’t make you black. Goodbye khloe 🖕🏻,” a second expressed.
One day after the scandal popped off, Khloe seemingly addressed the controversy with a shady little post she uploaded to her Instagram page. Appearing in a lavender bikini and wearing a massive beach hat, Khloe captioned her snap, “The Shade of it all 🌴.”
Her response didn’t appear to go well with folks, as one critic wrote, “We’re being shady for reminding you that your NOT black 😭.” Others joined in on discussing whether she was wrong to use the dark-skinned emoji. The results appeared to be split.
While many claimed that it wasn’t that big of a deal, other people felt differently. “I don’t have a problem with her,” one user expressed. “But use a white lady as her emoji not a black one. She is white. And if you don’t see the problem than your too much of a fan. Her daughter is black. She is not……..”
The Good American jeans designer wasn’t getting much sympathy on Twitter either, as one user pointed out that just the day before, she has used a white toned emoji. “She must have gotten a tan yall 🤣,” they captioned the screenshot. Someone else chimed in, saying, “This was yesterday,…. she knows exactly what she’s doing with the brown emojis 🙄. ”
Khole and her sister have often been accused of appropriating Black culture and never giving credit, but they’ve never publicly addressed the issue. Regardless of why Khloe used that specific tone, this incident appeared to be just another workday for the Kardashian clan.
