Crucial moments Kylie Jenner found herself in middle of controversy

Kylie Jenner’s career has been nothing short of tumultuous, marked by major controversies — including her self-made billionaire status, her skincare line, as well as cosmetic surgery choices.

However, not always for the right reasons.

Nevertheless, the 28-year-old reality star has consistently managed to handle the constant naysaying and backlash, coming back stronger than ever.

Here’s a more detailed look at some of Kylie's most controversial moments.

Kylie Jenner lip challenge

In 2015, a social media challenge called the “Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge” went viral, encouraging people to replicate the makeup mogul’s then-fuller lips.

Teens online began experimenting with ways to artificially plump their lips to imitate her look, believing it would make them appear more attractive.

They would place their lips inside a small glass, shot glass, or bottle, suck out the air, and hold it for several seconds to create a vacuum.

However, the challenge was met with major backlash.

According to Demystifying Medicine McMaster YouTube video, the suction creates negative pressure, causing vessel engorgement, a condition when the blood vessels in the lips fill with blood, triggering an explosion of inflammatory chemicals.

In addition, while it temporarily swelled the lips by restricting blood flow, it often caused severe bruising, pain, swelling, and in some cases, cuts or permanent damage to the skin.

Dermatologists such as Dr. Dendy Engelman warned about permanent disfigurement from repeated attempts, per the BBC.

According to CBS News, Dr. Leslie Bauman explained that strong suction can separate layers of the skin, leading to even more serious damage.

Self-Made billionaire:

In 2019, Kylie was declared the youngest self-made billionaire by Forbes, largely due to the global success of her cosmetic company, Kylie Cosmetics.

For the unversed, she beat the previous record holder, Mark Zuckerberg, who earned the title at age 23, per CNN.

However, this invited criticism, as many argued she couldn't be considered self-made because she comes from an extremely wealthy, highly privileged, well-known family.

Although Kylie is no longer a billionaire, the title was later retracted after a Forbes investigation into the company's finances revealed discrepancies between publicly stated figures and actual profitability.

Underpaying factory workers

A controversy surrounded her clothing line, Kendall + Kylie, when it was accused of not paying factory workers in Bangladesh and firing many others during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The brand was linked to Global Brands Group, which allegedly failed to pay garment suppliers due to a significant drop in sales during the coronavirus health scare.

However, the sisters denied the allegations, stating via the Kendall+Kylie brand account.

“We would like to address the unfortunate and incorrect rumor that Global Brands Group owns the Kendall + Kylie brand and that we have neglected to pay factory workers in Bangladesh as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” they wrote, per Buzzfeed.

"This is untrue," their statement continued, adding, "The Kendall + Kylie brand is owned by 3072541 Canada Inc., not GBG. The brand has worked with CAA-GBG in the past in a sales and business development capacity only, but we do not currently have any relationship at all with GBG."

"We know these are trying times for the fashion industry and garment workers as a whole, and we continue to support all of our partners working in the factories who produce our products," they further added.

The statement concluded, "We manufacture in countries all over the world and have not received any concerns from the factories who produce our goods."

Plagiarising another makeup artist's work

In 2014, shortly after launching her makeup line, Kylie adopted a dripping lip design as the company’s signature look.

Soon after, she was accused by renowned Los Angeles-based makeup artist Vlada Haggerty of stealing her design.

Two years later, Kylie was again called out by Haggerty for her 2016 holiday campaign, which closely resembled one of Haggerty's original shoots, as per Us Weekly.

"Really @kyliecosmetics? Haven't you gotten enough 'inspiration' from me already?" the makeup artist finally took to her Instagram handle at the time, sharing a side-by-side comparison of the photos.

Kylie Cosmetics later credited Haggerty, and the dispute was settled in January 2017.

Romantic involvement with Tyga

Kylie and Tyga’s relationship was controversial mainly due to their age difference.

When they began dating, Kylie was 17, a minor under California law, and Tyga was 25.

Moreover, their relationship was further scrutinised because of Tyga's previous relationship with Blac Chyna, who shares a son with him, and Blac's later relationship with Kylie's brother, Rob Kardashian, per Us Weekly.

Cultural appropriation

Kylie has been called out multiple times for adopting styles that are deeply rooted in Black and Latin cultures, including cornrows, dreadlocks, and fuller lips.

For the unaware, cultural appropriation takes place when members of a majority group adopt cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way, per Britannica.

A user on Reddit pointed out, “I can’t help but feel like this pattern highlights a larger issue with how Black culture is often treated in the media and by influencers. It’s popularized, profited from, and then discarded once it’s no longer the trend.”

“Kylie’s rise to fame is a clear example of how non-Black celebrities can pick and choose aspects of Blackness when it benefits them, without facing the same criticism or systemic challenges that Black people do when expressing their own culture,” the user expressed frustration.

Climate backlash over jet usage

Kylie has recently faced criticism for her excessive private jet use, especially during California wildfires, earlier this year.

According to The Sun, her $72 million Bombardier Global 7500 jet has flown 11 times this year, including three flights on January 16 alone, emitting approximately 162 tons of CO2, the equivalent of the annual electricity use of 33 homes, per CelebrityJets

Notably, ever since the wildfires began on January 7th, the jet has taken off eight times.

This deeply infuriated people, pointing out Kylie’s blatant hypocrisy, as around the same time, she posted a statement from her Kylie Cosmetics Instagram account, sharing that she’s donating “skincare, body, hair, and makeup products” to help fire victims in Altadena.

One user furiously wrote on Instagram, “Taking a private jet to Paris, which contributes to the warmer weather and wildfires in LA, and then putting a band-aid on middle-class LA fire victims with your lotion, is horrific. Use your power accordingly.”

GoFundMe backlash

Last but not least, in 2021, Kylie was once again met with criticism for sharing a fundraising link for makeup artist Samuel Rauda after his car accident, while donating only $5,000 herself, as reported by USA Today.

Critics said that her donation was relatively small given her wealth.

However, she immediately took to her Instagram account to clear the air that Sameul “isn’t my makeup artist and unfortunately we don’t have a personal relationship anymore."

"I saw my current makeup artist and friend Ariel post about Sam's accident and his family's gofundme... it compelled me to visit his gofundme which was set at 10K," Kylie wrote, adding, "They had already raised 6k so I put it in 5k to reach their original goal."

The Kylie Cosmetics founder shared that the only motive of sharing the fundraiser campaign on her stories was to gain “more awareness if anyone felt compelled to share or donate.”

"I don't know how all of this got so twisted but his family has reached out through Ariel and are very appreciative," she said.

A user on X (formerly known as Twitter) lashed out at Kylie, writing, “The fact that kylie jenner has the audacity to ask for donations for her friends/makeup artists emergency surgery (60,000) while she's worth a whole BILLION is very character telling.”

“I'm so embarrassed for her,” the user criticised, calling Kylie Jenner’s gesture a miser move.