privilege

Kim Kardashian has done it again. In what can only be described as an excruciating un-humble brag, the reality star decided that now was the time to tell the internet about her lavish 40th birthday vacation on a private island. 

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/cIFP7Nv5bV

— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 27, 2020

This tweet is from an obnoxiously long thread in which Kardashian goes through pains to tell us all about her incredible trip. Surrounded by friends and family, Kim was able to indulge in activities like dancing, swimming near whales, movies on the beach, and probably some very expensive alcohol. The thread was punctuated with an incredibly tone-deaf disclaimer: "I realize that for most people, this is something that is so far out of reach right now, so in moments like these, I am humbly reminded of how privileged my life is." 

Judging by the response to the thread, her humble appeal to the poors has not made anyone feel better. The fact that Kardashian saw fit to flaunt her wealth during the middle of a pandemic - while people are dying - is something that most people can't get past. While some people are calling Kardashian out in quote-tweets, others are employing a little more nuance. With memes. The "After 2 weeks and multiple health screens" tweet has become a popular copypasta, and industrious Twitter users are swapping out Kim's photo for funnier (and scarier) images from pop culture. Using everything from Jeffrey Epstein's island of sin to Jurassic Park, the memes are both scathing and excellent. Hopefully Kim will think twice before channeling Marie Antoinette in the future. 

It looks like rich white celebrities have learned absolutely nothing from the Gal Gadot 'Imagine' video's backlash. While that controversial John Lennon sing-along was about the coronavirus pandemic, today's cringey video is an attempt by actors like Aaron Paul, Stanley Tucci and Julianne Moore to address racism. The video features the actors (and KeSha) "taking responsibility" for their roles in turning a blind eye to racism at home and in the workplace. While the sentiment is hard to argue with, the video is being ridiculed for being a tone deaf performative display of "wokeness." And we have to admit that it's hard to feel moved by rich and privileged actors reading from a script. Though we hope this is the last celebrity video of its kind, it's hard to help being amused by the tweets that mock the clip. And we've put a whole lot of 'em together right here.

We know that many of you are coping with quarantines, lockdowns, job loss and illness as the coronavirus outbreak worsens. And we feel for you. But there are some people we don't have sympathy for. We simply cannot deal with celebrities who are trying to show solidarity during this time. Folks like Sam Smith are whining about quarantine from their expensive homes. Other celebs are saying "We're all in this together" while sitting in mansions and eating food cooked by their private chefs. It all feels pretty ridiculous and disgusting. Memers have started to take notice of this gross behavior and are fighting the best way they know how: with memes.

Life is pretty easy for a lot of us netizens. These daft first world problems may be helpful in bringing some perspective to your charmed little lives. Maybe seeing how ridiculous our anxieties are will help you next time you find yourself sweating when your phone dips to 20%.