Billboard blasted for its ‘vile’ tweet sexualizing Kim Kardashian’s daughter

By Jordan Valinsky • October 30, 2015 •

Billboard is apologizing after one of its tweets involving Kim Kardashian’s daughter North West was widely interpreted as “vile” and “problematic.”

The magazine’s Twitter account, followed by 3.2 million people, posted a picture this morning of the 2-year-old in Kardashian’s arms licking a toy with the caption: “The apple doesn’t fall from the tree” with a link to a video of West shooing away the paparazzi. The tweet, seen in this screenshot below, was deleted after two hours after publication:

billboard

Many people blasted the tweet for its implied sexual innuendo, including MSNBC contributor Janet Mock who called it “appalling” and “shameful,” adding “an editor should never position such innuendo on the image of a child, regardless of her famous parent.”

That response was echoed through many on Twitter:

Slut-shaming women isn’t okay. Slut-shaming baby girls is really not okay. I don’t care who their mothers are. https://t.co/aFk2RqNkiR

— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) October 30, 2015

This is vile, absolutely vile. https://t.co/qHia5ougoK — Gugulethu Mhlungu (@GugsM) October 30, 2015

Delete this @billboard. This is absolutely disgusting. Garbage. https://t.co/8lBmqX7Tw4

— Jason Rosenberg (@mynameisjro) October 30, 2015

.@billboard‘s tweet about north west is the most disgusting thing. someone needs to get fired. — carla (@indiosyncratic) October 30, 2015

Y’all trash for this RT @billboard: The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree… https://t.co/ngkPaDewWn https://t.co/kWWhgRLHch

— Brey Z (@TheBreyKeys) October 30, 2015

@billboard she’s a child she’s a child she’s a child she’s a child she’s a child she’s a child she’s a child she’s a child she’s a child — Zola (@SharnTM) October 30, 2015

Why not use an actual photo from the story that you’re posting about @billboard? Extremely problematic.

— Air-IN with an E (@AirInDanYell) October 30, 2015

A Billboard press rep pointed us to this apology on Twitter without elaborating further:

We apologize for the tweet involving North West. The caption was about her comments to paparazzi. The suggestion some see was not intended. — billboard (@billboard) October 30, 2015

Still, many aren’t buying Billboard’s message even attacking the magazine’s editorial drift away from music news:

@billboard y’all are lying! If that was the case, you wouldn’t have used that picture. Yall are disgusting & thought it would’ve been funny!

— Lia✨ (@king_leeee) October 30, 2015