Sharon Osbourne called Kim Kardashian “just a ho,” blasting Kim for the various topless photos that she’s taken over the years and generally calling her a fake feminist.
Even people who like Sharon Osbourne and have their issues with Kim for one thing or another (and who doesn’t?) got their feathers ruffled over that.
As you can imagine, Kim Kardashian didn’t take that criticism lying down. And now she’s responded. …
As you’ll recall, Sharon Osbourne really went off on the reality star and mobile video game creator.
“Kim says she’s doing everything in the name of feminism, but that’s not feminism!”
Incidentally, both of those statements are false.
“Those girls live off their bodies, half of L.A. has been through them and everything they do from the sex tape to the plastic see-through dresses and the gym wear is about sex, not female progress. And listen: God bless them.”
It’s weird for a woman who just slut-shamed the Kardashians (the “half of L.A. has been through them” line) to then try to talk about “female progress.”
And Sharon doubles down on her controversial stance … and stoops to name-calling.
“If Kim wants to show off her body, fine. But that’s not feminism; that’s being a ho.”
She (correctly) adds that it’s not an insult … but it doesn’t quite sound like she means it.
“And there’s nothing wrong with being a ho, but always remember what you are.”
Ugh.
Taking a break from the Harper’s BAZAAR event, “ICONS by Carine Roitfeld,” Kim Kardashian responded to Sharon Osbourne’s words, telling E! exactly what she thought.
It sounds like Kim is basically embarrassed for Sharon.
“First of all, I think she said I said a quote about, ‘I post nude photos in the name of feminism.’ Never said that. So I think when people misquote you and then comment, it just sounds ridiculous.”
Showing as much or little of your body as you like — controlling how you, as a woman, are viewed — is absolutely feminist.
But yeah, Kim Kardashian might get applauded by fellow celebrities for being empowering in the name of feminism, but that doesn’t mean that Kim herself is waving a feminist flag every time that she climbs a tree with her nip nops out.
“I post nude photos because I like how I look and I feel proud when I’ve lost all this baby weight and I post it because I feel like posting it and I feel powerful.”
And you know what? Good for her.
“But I’ve never been like the ‘free the nipple’ kind of girl.”
That would be, like, Kendall. You see her nips all of the time through the thinnest fabrics.
(Nipples are extra hard to miss when they’re pierced)
“So … if I post a photo, I post it because I like how I look. So she kind of misquoted me on that and I thought it just looked really, like stupid.”
That pretty much sums it up.
We can’t help but wonder if part of what was weighing on Sharon Osbourne’s mind wasn’t the overwhelming burden of Kim Kardashian’s nudity.
We also think that it was more than just Sharon Osbourne happening to be old and perhaps struggling to understand modern feminism.
When Sharon was younger, feminism wasn’t nearly as far along. Remember that there was a time when women couldn’t hold certain jobs or could simply be banned from restaurants during certain hours or forbidden from opening their own bank accounts.
There are many battles that feminism wages for gender equality. It’s important to remember that feminism does have some triumphs in its pocket.
But we wonder if Sharon Osbourne was thinking about what almost made her divorce Ozzy Osbourne before the two reconciled.
Ozzy Osbourne cheated on Sharon — not just with one woman, but with at least six.
It could be that Sharon Osbourne wasn’t feeling very sex positive because, so recently, sex was a threat to her marriage.
We hate to sound like armchair psychologists or whatever, psychoanalyzing Sharon, but this sounds like it could be a strong factor behind her thinking.
Baring skin doesn’t make you a “ho,” it just makes you a person whose meat prison is covered with skin that you decided to show.
Being a “ho,” whether you’re merely promiscuous or genuinely a sex worker, is also not a bad thing. It’s your body and you can do what you like with it.
There are many valid criticisms of Kim Kardashian.
From cultural appropriation to siding with people who are in the wrong to using underhanded tactics while feuding, Kim Kardashian has been accused of plenty. And that’s okay to talk about.
We can even question whether Kim is a good feminist or a bad feminist.
But, while not everyone who bares all has feminist intentions, there’s nothing inherently non-feminist about a woman showing off her body.
We do love Sharon Osbourne. We hope that she’ll come to understand this complicated issue.
