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

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:

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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:

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

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

Photos via Facebook and Twitter.

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