Remember the great Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad debacle of 2017?
Well, this isn’t quite as bad as that, but it’s still evidence that you can spend your entire life in the spotlight and still grow up to be totally ignorant of how to interact with the general public.
As you’re probably aware, Kendall is a model — and quite a successful one, at that.
But from the start, there have been rumors that she’s had trouble earning the respect of her fellow models.
Reports of Kendall being snubbed by her colleagues were rampant after her first Victoria’s Secret show, but it seems she’s managed to win some of the skeptics over in the years since.
Now, however, she may have squandered all that hard-earned goodwill with a single awkward interview.
“Since the beginning we’ve been super selective about what shows I would do,” Kendall recently told Love magazine.
“I was never one of those girls who would do like 30 shows a season or whatever the f-ck those girls do. More power to ‘em. But I had a million jobs, not only catwalks but everything else,” she added.
“The whole combination was very overwhelming and I started to freak out a little bit and needed to take a step back.”
Turns out boasting about how in-demand you are doesn’t exactly endear you to people struggling to make a living in your field, especially when you were born with advantages they can only dream of.
The backlash against Kendall was immediate — and intense.
“This makes me so angry,” Victoria’s Secret model Jac Jagaciak tweeted in response to the interview.
“So disrespectful to literally 99% of people in the industry — yes, they had to work their way up. Please get in touch with the real world!”
Model Vita Sidorkina also chimed in, tweeting:
“Maybe ‘those girls’ need to pay their bills that’s why they are doing 30 shows? No words…”
Kendall quickly got in front of the situation and apologized in a lengthy statement posted on several social media platforms:
“I was misrepresented in a recent interview over the weekend and it’s important to clarify the meaning. It was intended to be entirely complimentary but unfortunately, my words were twisted and taken out of context,” she wrote.
“I want to be clear. The respect I have for my peers is immeasurable!”
Kendall added:
“I get to experience first hand their tireless commitment, their work ethic, the endless days, the lack of sleep, separation from family and friends, stress of traveling, the toll on physical and mental health, yet they still make it all look effortless and beautiful.
“I’m so inspired by so many of these people I have had the good fortune to work alongside! There’s no way I could EVER hate on that. I want everyone to win. SLAY ALWAYS.”
Hmm … we’re willing to give her the benefit of the doubt because much of the meaning of Kendall’s original statement would depend on the tone in which it was expressed.
Of course, we’re not the ones Kendall is apologizing to.
Her fellow models are obviously pissed — and her apology, no matter how well-intentioned, may be too little, too late.
