The Kardashian’s are notorious for a variety of reasons, one of which is their profound makeup skills (although their makeup artists deserve credit, as well). After launching her beauty ad for KKW Beauty, however, Kim Kardashian West received criticism after the photographs were seen in the public eye. The ever-glowing bronze reality star was too bronze, with people accusing her of using blackface to sell her products.

On June 14th, Mrs. Kardashian West posted a photograph of the KKW Beauty ad on her Instagram page, and the internet was up in arms. To make matters worse, the actual photograph on the KKW Beauty page showed Kim’s skin to be much lighter in the final photograph than in her Instagram post. In response, she may not be apologizing but Kim is taking responsibility for the incident. “I would obviously never want to offend anyone. I used an amazing photographer and a team of people. I was really tan when we shot the images, and it might be that the contrast was off,” she said to the New York Times in a statement on June 19. “But I showed the image to many people, to many in the business. No one brought that to our attention. No one mentioned it.”

As much as the reality star is in the public eye, she should be well aware that one can’t always trust the judgement of others. In fact, her sister Kendall Jenner serves as a perfect example, when her incredibly tone-deaf Pepsi ad was so widely criticized that the commercial was yanked after only a day. Several marketing companies and execs had seen the commercial prior to its release yet somehow, they didn’t grasp how much disgust the commercial would receive after going public. “Of course, I have the utmost respect for why people might feel the way they do,” Kardashian said. “But we made the necessary changes to that photo and the rest of the photos. We saw the problem, and we adapted and changed right away. Definitely I have learned from it.” While Kim has a darker bronze complexion, the color is nowhere near dark enough to accuse her of putting on blackface. The KKW Beauty line products will be available for purchase on June 21.

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