Kendall Jenner caused a social media storm with her presence at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards.
The esteemed awards, which were held at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday, honored the best in film and American television in 2017. However, a large portion of social media users argued that the 22-year-old supermodel had no business rubbing shoulders with Hollywood’s elite.
Some social media users jokingly tried to justify the reality TV star’s presence by suggesting that her controversial Pepsi advert got a nomination nod at the awards.
Kendall, who was recently named the highest-paid supermodel by Forbes with earnings over $22 million over a 12-month period, came under fire in April for the advert that reportedly ridiculed the Black Lives Matter movement.
The high-profile member of the Kardashian family is shown in the advert leaving a modeling shoot to join a crowd of diverse protesters. In the course of the protest, Kendall hands over a can of Pepsi to a police officer, who takes a sip and smiles at a fellow officer.
The widespread criticism that followed accused Pepsi of exploiting the racial protest movement to sell more drinks. One of those who mocked the advert was Bernice King, daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. She tweeted a picture of her father being manhandled by a police officer at a protest march with a deriding caption, “if only Daddy would have known the power of Pepsi.”
Kendall Jenner Is Getting Dragged on Twitter for Appearing at the Golden Globes https://t.co/vlTVcKTkDN pic.twitter.com/D73o23ZcXp
— Marie Claire (@marieclaire) January 8, 2018
The global drinks brand pulled the commercial within 24 hours and issued a public apology to Kendall for being caught in the crossfire. However, that controversy was unearthed once again at the 75th Golden Globe Awards with one tweeter asking why Kendall Jenner was there, the Daily Mail is reporting.
“Why is Kendall Jenner there? For her amazing work in the Pepsi commercial?!”
Other social media users followed suit, poking fun at the reality TV star’s lack of “talent” in comparison to the other galaxy of stars at the event. One particular commentator pointed out that Kendall’s ex-boyfriend and singer turned actor Harry Styles was not at the event, even though his movie Dunkirk had received a nomination.
Despite the furor surrounding Kendall Jenner, the supermodel still had a hugely successful 2017, dethroning Gisele as the best-paid model. It was the first time in 15 years.
Another social media user questioned Kendall’s presence at the awards, adding that she’s “not an actress, not a producer, not a director, not an activist #enoughKardashianalready.”
But Kendall, who looked dazzling in an all-black dress styled by Giambattista Valli, was part of the Golden Globes Time’s Up protest which chose the dark color in solidarity with victims of sexual harassment and assault.
The culture of misconduct in the entertainment industry was brought to the fore by the disgraceful downfall of Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein.
According to The Sun , Kendall’s skin appearance was also mocked by online trolls , but her fans quickly sprung to her defense.
Big winners on the night at the 75th Golden Globe Awards included Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Nicole Kidman’s HBO TV series Big Little Lies , which won four awards each, per a Vox report.
Oprah Winfrey was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement and gave a riveting speech about sexual assault and harassment.