Kim Kardashian understands the internet like nobody else and her 259 million Instagram followers are a testament to it. The social media mogul thrives on underestimation and has managed to turn all the lemons into lemonade. From her nude Paper magazine cover in 2014 to her head-to-toe masked incognito look at the 2021 Met Gala – she knows how to get the mouths running regardless. For the longest time, Kim and her family have been ridiculed for being ‘talentless’ but their ringing bank accounts and thriving businesses may beg to differ. While her career in the limelight may have begun as Pairs Hilton’s publicist – today, she’s a self-made billionaire living her real-life Legally Blonde moment by simultaneously acing academia to be a lawyer. On her 41st birthday, let’s visit some of favourite Kim K internet-shattering moment over the years.
1. Risqué Cover For Paper
Just when the internet was getting used to Kim’s explicit selfies and by the pool shoots, she dialled it up a notch by posing bare-butt on the Paper magazine cover. As she’s always the ‘butt’ of every joke, she took it literally and made it into a talking point for days (years).
2. Selfish: A Book Full Of Bold Selfies
Often ridiculed for indulging too much in vanity, Kim decided to clap back at hater by launching a whole book full of her selfies. If you’ve been following her on Snapchat and Instagram, you know she loves flaunting her hourglass form sans the clothes. In order to immortalise her everyday self-love, she turned her daily images into a coffee table book – talk about a marketing genius.
3. Controversial Weddings
While everyone only remembers Kim’s dreamy nuptials with now ex-husband Kanye West in Florence, Italy, it wasn’t the only time she walked down the aisle. Before marrying one of the most famous musicians in the world, Kim tied the knot with basketball player Kris Humphries in 2011 – which lasted for all of 72 days, landing her personal life in headlines yet again. But this wasn’t her first marriage debacle – in 2000, Kim eloped with songwriter Damon Thomas at the age of 19 and confessed to being high on ecstasy on her wedding day.
4. Launch Of KKW Beauty & Skims
Terms like contouring, baking and creasing were alien to netizens before Kim Kardashian made it mainstream. It only made sense that she started a beauty brand (KKW Beauty) that taps into all things beauty and fragrance. For her next venture, Kim decided to take up another genre she has expertise in – shapewear. While the initial title of her intimate wear label, Kimonos, landed her in choppy waters, Kim turned things around by naming it Skims. Ever since it has become quite the phenomenon with starry campaigns and innovative silhouettes that are comfortable and inclusive.
5. Met Gala 2019 In Mugler
After spotting Kim on the steps of the Met, half of the internet was convinced that she removed a rib to fit into that second-skin dress by Thierry Mugler and the other half frantically wanted the number of her fitness trainer that helped her attain this snatched bod. Kim takes her fashion very seriously, even if that means not sitting for an entire evening (cried in sweats on a. recliner).
6. Met Gala 2021 In Balenciaga
The theme for Met Gala 2021 was In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion and Kim understood the assignment. Confused? let me break it down for you. The American culture has always been judgmental of Kim’s fashion choices, regardless of how safe or salacious they are. This time around, she decided to cover every inch of herself in custom-made Balenciaga, yet, she found herself as the top meme on every page – proving the point she was trying to make.
7. Hosting SNL
The moment Kim announced that she’s hosting SNL (Saturday Night Live) the internet was quick to demotivate her, but she managed to turn it around faster than momager Kris spins a controversy. After the episode was out, everyone collectively praised Kim’s comic timing, roasting abilities and commitment to the whole acting gig. Kim single-handedly impressed and amused her haters, breaking the internet yet again.
