At least one guy is keeping up with Kendall Jenner.
The superstar model sparked controversy among fans this weekend after she was photographed with an unidentified male chaperone holding an umbrella over her head.
In photos first obtained by the Sun, Jenner is seen being escorted to and from her car in the midst of a rainstorm, as a man walked at her side with an umbrella to keep her dry.
To brave the weather, the “Kardashians” star wore a pair of black leggings, a blue hoodie and a pair of chestnut-colored Ugg boots.
While Jenner may have enjoyed her decidedly dry jaunt in the rain, some fans were outraged that the star couldn’t be bothered to hold an umbrella — which soon erupted into a full-blown social media discourse on privilege.
The recent photos of the 818 Tequila founder were widely circulated on the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” Reddit forum, on which fans slammed the star.
“I don’t care how rich I am but I would feel so bad letting someone hold my umbrella for me while they are getting soaked,” someone wrote on the thread, receiving 987 “upvotes” on the message board platform.
Another person agreed, writing, “Not going to lie, I don’t care how rich and famous I am, I would never let someone hold an umbrella up for me…even if that’s their job, it would make me feel bad…”
“She really thinks she deserves this treatment,” one user chimed in.
The photos also made their way to TikTok, where popular creator Lauren Ashley Beck was one of many who discussed the controversy.
“I don’t necessarily agree with this, but if this is the job that he signed up for and this is what he’s paid to do, then that’s what it is,” Beck said in her video.
She also compared the umbrella-holding employee to Fonzworth Bentley, a man who started his successful career by holding umbrellas for Sean “Diddy” Combs.
However, TikTok users still didn’t seem to be letting this one slide for Ms. Jenner.
“Regardless though it’s humiliating to let someone do that,” one critic commented on Beck’s video.
“She’s so out of touch it’s actually ridiculous,” another wrote.
Some Kardashian fans still stood by the star.
“Gave someone a job… I’m not opposed,” one user shrugged.
“I mean it’s definitely a weird job but as long as he’s being paid fairly for it then I don’t [have] a problem,” one viewer admitted.
This is not the first time the 27-year-old has been called tone-deaf on social media. In 2017, Jenner’s commercial for Pepsi was pulled after it was accused of “trivializing” the Black Lives Matter movement, according to the New York Times. The company even issued an apology.
“Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly, we missed the mark and apologize,” the company said in a statement at the time. “We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are pulling the content and halting any further rollout.”
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
