Khloe Kardashian addresses unedited bikini photo after trying to get it removed from the internet
8 April 2021, 11:37
Khloe Kardashian shows off her natural body after unedited bikini photo leaks
Khloe threatened outlets with legal action if they didn't remove her unedited bikini picture.
Khloe Kardashian has addressed the unedited bikini photo that leaked and went viral on the internet.
Earlier this week, a "colour-edited photo" was taken of Khloe in her bikini during a private family gathering. The image was then mistakenly shared on social media by an assistant. Several popular social media accounts started to circulate the image and were soon hit with the threat of legal action if they didn't remove the picture.
The photo prompted a lot of conversation around body image and the use of filters on social media, especially because the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star looked amazing in the natural photo.
READ MORE: Khloe Kardashian tells troll to "shut the f**k up" over Kylie and Jordyn comment
However, in a statement shared on Instagram, Khloe said she had "the right to ask for it not to be shared".
The statement read: "The photo that was posted this week is beautiful. But as someone who has struggled with body image her whole life, when someone takes a photo of you that isn't flattering in bad lighting or doesn't capture your body the way it is after working so hard to get it to this point – and then shares it to the world – you should have the right to ask for it not to be shared – regardless of who you are.
"In truth, the pressure, constant ridicule and judgment my entire life to be perfect and meet other's standards of how I should look has been too much to bear."
Khloe then shared some of the criticism she often receives, including being called the "fat" or "ugly" sister and comments that her father Robert Kardashian isn't actually her biological father because she looks different to her sisters.
She added: "For over a decade now in photos, every single flaw and imperfection has been micro-analyzed and made fun of to the smallest detail and I am reminded of them everyday by the world. It’s almost unbearable trying to live up to the impossible standards that the public have all set for me. And when I take that criticism to use as motivation to get myself in the best shape of my life and to even help others with the same struggles I am told that I couldn't have done it all through hard work and I must have paid for it all."
Khloe said she'd been "conditioned" to feel like she's not beautiful enough and admitted to using "a good filter, good lighting and an edit here and there – the same way I throw on some make-up, get my nails done, or wear a pair of heels to present myself to the world the way I want to be seen". She also shared two videos, one from an Instagram Live and one of herself only in a pair of knickers, to prove what her "unretouched and unfiltered" body looks like.
She continued: "My body, my image and how I choose to look and what I want to share is my choice. It's not for anyone to decide or judge what is acceptable or not anymore."
Following her statement, Khloe started trending on Twitter, with many noting the difficult body standards imposed on women. However, these can perhaps be partly attributed to the Kardashians, who contribute to the culture of online perfection by editing their images and pushing diet products.
Khloe kardashian has all that wealth, all that surgery, nutritionists, personal trainers, dieticians... I’m sure the money spent on her body alone could fund a small country... but yet babes STILL doesn’t want an unedited pic of herself on the internet. That family needs help.
— London Hughes (@TheLondonHughes) April 7, 2021
Lol yes I read Khloe Kardashian’s statement and while I have empathy for her, she is currently part of the problem. This is sick and she needs professional help, not a platform where she lives a lie and separates young women from their money by teaching them to hate themselves.
— Sophie Ross (@SophRossss) April 8, 2021
Khloe Kardashian getting annoyed at the beauty standards of filters vs hating a photo of her actual body even tho her & her family are the pioneers for editing their pics to almost CGI level pic.twitter.com/NX0hQF5RI2
— Hann🌸 (@hannahbechill) April 8, 2021
That’s a lovely statement but very much a contradiction. By putting out the perfect image with all the filters you are contributing to the problem that makes others feel the same as you do. Just be you with filters and airbrushing is what your saying.
— CATHY STRICKLAND (@cathy_stickland) April 8, 2021
The Kardashians are a HUGE reason people are insecure about their bodies. The least Khloe could do is leave up an untouched photo where she looks like a normal fucking human being
— Melissa Stetten (@MelissaStetten) April 8, 2021
there's something so viscerally sad to me about khloe kardashian going onto instagram and showing her body in a low-light room because slightly unflattering unedited photos of her leaked.
— Dana Schwartz (@DanaSchwartzzz) April 8, 2021
Khloe Kardashian + her family need serious therapy.
— Dom. (@xoSWEET_DREAMs) April 7, 2021
Khloe is so unhappy with herself even after all these damn surgeries that she rushed to get a normal pic taken off the internet.
Whole family has body dysmorphia.