As we’ve learned over the years, if we can count on the Kardashians for two things, it’s their love for throwing chill, low-key birthday celebrations, and their ability to read the room. I kid, obviously. That’s why it was not at all surprising when Kim Kardashian posted a Twitter thread on Tuesday bragging about her recent private island getaway for her 40th birthday. Along with many photos of mask-less rich people having a great time in paradise, Kim wrote that the trip followed “2 weeks of multiple health screenings and asking everyone to quarantine,” and that it was a great way to “pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time.”
The thing is, things are not normal right now. We’re still setting new records for new COVID cases, a terrifying election is less than a week away, and the sun is about to start setting at 4pm. In another tweet, Kim acknowledged her privilege and said that “for most people, this is something that is so far out of reach right now,” but somehow that doesn’t make me feel better about the fact that I haven’t seen my family in almost a year.
Here’s the original thread, in case you need a reason to be mad today:
40 and feeling so humbled and blessed. There is not a single day that I take for granted, especially during these times when we are all reminded of the things that truly matter. pic.twitter.com/p98SN0RDZD
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 27, 2020
As you can probably guess, people online were not happy about Kim’s posts, and she was widely criticized for being tone-deaf. But along with the criticism, this was also a prime opportunity to clown Kim, which is an internet pastime we can all get behind. People quickly started pairing her ridiculous tweet with pop culture images, et voilà, a trend was born.
After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time. pic.twitter.com/JBNGix8tRM
— Betches (@betchesluvthis) October 28, 2020
But now that we’ve laughed at the memes and cried at the fact that we’re not on a private island right now, let’s go over some key details that we know about the trip. According to E! News, the private island is located in Tahiti, and Kim obviously flew all her guests there on a private jet. Fun fact: did you know that California still advises its citizens against traveling for non-essential reasons? That’s right! The state COVID-19 website states that you should “avoid travelling long distances for vacations or pleasure as much as possible,” and that “If you do travel, [you should] take steps to keep everyone safe like wearing a face covering, keeping 6 feet of physical distance from those not in your household, and washing your hands frequently.” Obviously, lots of people in California have traveled for non-essential reasons in the last seven months, but it’s clear that Kim & Co. weren’t wearing masks or taking any other precautions while they were on the island, even if they were tested beforehand.
After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time pic.twitter.com/21k9tuufph
— Betches (@betchesluvthis) October 27, 2020
Based just on the photos Kim posted, there were at least 20 people on the trip with her, which is more than I would ever want on a group trip, but to each their own. Along with family members, there are several other random friends in the pictures, but there are some things to note about who merited an invite. Rob was in attendance, along with Scott and Tristan, who both may or may not be back together with their respective Kardashian significant others. It’s unclear how many kids were on the trip, but Mason was in one of the photos, so if Scott and Kourtney aren’t together, maybe he was just there on babysitting duty.
But there was one person who was conspicuously absent from any of the photos in Kim’s post: Kanye. Over the past few months, there have been endless rumors about the status of Kim’s relationship with Kanye, but missing out on the 40th birthday trip would be a major development. Busy on the campaign trail, perhaps? For a while, it really seemed like he wasn’t there, but then Kourtney made us question everything when she posted a photo of Kanye riding a bike in the jungle on her Instagram story.
At first, some of my coworkers wondered if this was a photo from an old trip, dropped quietly on Kourtney’s Instagram story so people would see it, but it wouldn’t really make news. This seemed like a plausible theory, but based on the model of YEEZYs that Kanye is wearing, this photo couldn’t be from any earlier than summer 2020 (I hate that I know this), so I’m guessing he really was on the birthday trip. But if that’s the case, then WHY wasn’t he in any of Kim’s photos? This didn’t just happen by accident! Netflix, I have a suggestion for the next season of Unsolved Mysteries!
At the end of the day, there’s really nothing surprising about this whole trip, or the social media posts. Kim and her family have shown us who they are time and again, and I don’t really have the energy to be outraged. Kim is gonna do Kim, and I’ll just stay in my apartment for six more months, or until someone pays for me to take a private jet somewhere. It’s fine, everything is fine!
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Images: kimkardashian, betchesluvthis / Twitter; kourtneykardash / Instagram