Khloé Kardashian’s Halloween costume sparks blackfishing accusations

Many celebrities’ Halloween costumes are a highlight of the scariest night of the year every year. Of course the Kardashians are also there. But Khloé and Kim Kardashian have caused quite a bit of controversy with their costumes this year.

Together with their two friends Olivia Pierson and Natalie Halcro, the sisters dressed up as Bratz dolls. Based entirely on the original dolls, they wore matching short dresses or skirts in different colors with berets, complemented by either knee-high boots or stockings. The dolls are often seen as competition to Barbie and had to be taken off the market for some time due to a legal dispute with Barbie manufacturer Mattel – but they are now being sold again. Critics accuse the dolls of being even more sexualizing than Barbie. But the Kardashian sisters have to listen to a completely different criticism for their Halloween costumes in addition to many positive comments: blackfishing.

What does blackfishing mean?

This refers to celebrities who are actually white and intentionally use attributes from other cultures and do everything they can to be publicly perceived as black people. In contrast to blackfacing, the face is not simply blackened with color, but the lips are particularly emphasized, for example, artists wear braids even though they do not have Afro hair, use the slang of black people, use excessive amounts of bronzer or darker makeup. Up to make the skin appear a little darker and much more.

Anything to be perceived as black. Artists such as Nicki Minaj and Jesy Nelson, former singer of the British pop band Little Mix, have also already faced these allegations. For Kim Kardashian, these allegations are anything but new.

The photos of Khloé, Kim and their friends’ Halloween looks were therefore commented on a lot. Many write that they didn’t initially find Khloé in the pictures and almost thought she wasn’t part of the photo herself. Others directly address the styling of the four friends as blackfishing. One user writes: “You want to be black so badly, but you don’t know what that entails.”

The criticism is not new for the Kardashians

The sisters probably wanted to celebrate their sister Kylie Jenner with the costume. This year it was announced that it would be Bratz’s first-ever celebrity collaboration. Six dolls featuring Kylie’s iconic looks are set to be released. Also included is her Versace dress from the Met Gala 2019. But after the announcement, Kylie had already received some criticism for the skin color of her dolls. Fans also accuse her of blackfishing because the dolls’ skin tone is significantly darker than Kylie Jenner’s actual skin color.

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