The Sketchy Side Of Khloe Kardashian
Khloé Kardashian's lack of a filter made her a fan-favorite on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," and viewers aren't the only ones who appreciate the youngest Kardashian sister's personality — the fitness fanatic's wicked sense of humor also scored her some major brownie points with celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson. "She's fun and she's funny as hell, and dirty," he told the Mirror. "In any aspect of your life you'd be lucky to have a Khloé."
But Khloé is no saint. When she appeared on the MTV series "When I Was 17," she recalled forging her parents' signatures so that she could drop out of Catholic school and enroll in homeschool. "I was kind of a shady kid," she confessed. On her Khloe With a K website (via People), she shared more stories about her wild child ways, revealing that she once got grounded for over a month. "I used to sneak out in the middle of the night to go to parties. I stole my parents' cars when I was underage and got into a lot of trouble for that. I was very bad for no reason!" she admitted.
Khloé has also expressed regret over the way she treated her mother during the early days of "KUWTK" — remember when she answered a call from Kris Jenner by saying, "Yes, Satan"? "Obviously we had some teenage issues we had 2 work through," Khloé tweeted of her relationship with her momager. But her sketchy behavior continued well past those first seasons.
The conflicting accounts of how she met Tristan Thompson
According to Khloé Kardashian, her ill-fated relationship with former Chicago Bulls star Tristan Thompson began in 2016 when another NBA player, Brandon Jennings, decided to play matchmaker. "He was like, 'You're such a good girl, I want to introduce you to someone,'" she recalled on the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians 10 Year Anniversary Special." Khloé wasn't interested, but when she hosted a group dinner one night, Jennings brought Thompson with him.
Radar, however, suggests that Khloé and Thompson actually met when they were both guests at Eniko Parrish and Kevin Hart's wedding. Thompson was reportedly there with his ex Jordan Craig, who was pregnant with their child. In 2019, Radar obtained court docs in which Craig accused Thompson of being unfaithful, and while she didn't mention Khloé by name, she did reveal that she suspected Thompson of cheating on her with a paparazzi magnet. Khloé used her Instagram Story to address Craig's claims, insisting that Thompson assured her he was single when they started dating. She also revealed that Thompson didn't tell her about Craig's pregnancy until after they'd gone out on a few dates, per People. By this time, Khloé had dumped Thompson for cheating on her.
Larsa Pippen shared another version of events on the "Hollywood Raw" podcast. "I was kinda seeing Tristan before Khloé," she said. She claimed that she introduced Thompson to the Kardashians, and he started dating Khloé a few days later.
Her questionable parenting decisions
The mommy shamers have been keeping up with Khloé Kardashian. They've accused Kardashian of using filters on photos of her daughter, including an October 2022 Instagram pic of True holding her baby brother. "Please stop putting filters on True. You're showing her that you aren't happy with how she looks and that's going to do long term damage," one critic commented.
Kardashian has also been criticized for lavishing her little girl with expensive gifts. When the mother of two appeared on "Get Organized with The Home Edit," viewers learned that True owns enough kid-sized electric cars to fill a garage. They include a sparkly, Barbie-pink Bentley that Vice valued at $2,000. "How does a young person learn to value OF ANYTHING when she's handed EVERYTHING!" wrote one YouTuber in response to a clip from the episode. Then there's True's designer wardrobe and handbag collection. When she got all decked out in Dior to help her mom create some content for the 'gram, Hollywood Life reported that her tank top alone cost $2,611. In another style slam-dunk, True carried a basketball-shaped Judith Leiber purse worth almost $4,000 and rocked a $1,300 Gucci jacket, per The U.S. Sun.
Kardashian has responded to the criticism of her big spending on True. When one of her Instagram followers accused her of being materialistic, she responded, "Yes, I do choose to spoil my daughter. I want to spoil her with love as well with material items."
Accusations of racism and cultural appropriation
Many of Khloé Kardashian's fans weren't laughing in 2014 when she shared a racially insensitive meme on Instagram. Per Us Weekly, it featured a photo of Khloé, Kim, and Kourtney Kardashian along with the words, "The Only KKK To Ever Let Black Men In." Khloé deleted the post but got dragged on Twitter. "You're so ignorant, insensitive, and racist for posting that instagram, and honestly a disgusting person for doing so." one person tweeted. "Your family views Black men as nothing more than a fetish," another critic wrote. Case in point: a viral Twitter video of a censored "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" scene in which Khloé appears to use a racial slur. "I only like Black c***," she says. "All I get called is a n***er lover, who the f*** cares."
Khloé found herself in hot water again when Redditors unearthed a photo of her 2003 Halloween costume. She appeared to be dressed like a pimp, and she was posing with four Black women wearing matching lingerie, collars, and leashes. "This is actually one of the worst things I've ever seen a celebrity do," read one comment on Reddit.
Khloé has also been called out for culturally appropriating Black hairstyles. On Twitter, one person even used her to explain the concept of cultural appropriation, writing, "Appropriation to me is sorta more like stealing it, putting your name on it, and disregarding it's roots, like what Khloe did with cornrows."
The unbalanced blaming and fat shaming of Jordyn Woods
In February 2019, it was reported that Khloé Kardashian had dumped Tristan Thompson for cheating on her with Jordyn Woods, a close friend of her sister Kylie Jenner. Woods appeared on "Red Table Talk" the following month and confessed that Thompson kissed her while she was partying with pals at his home. She took accountability for the situation, admitting that it was a mistake to go to his house. However, she claimed that Thompson initiated the kiss. "I'm no homewrecker," said an emotional Woods.
But on Twitter, Kardashian publicly dragged Woods and accused her of lying. "BTW, You ARE the reason my family broke up!" she wrote. Many of her followers did not agree and called her out for being unfair to Woods. "The father of your kid cheats on you for the 100th time but you decide to blame Jordyn," read one incredulous reaction.
Kardashian did later acknowledge that it takes two to tango, but she infuriated fans again when they watched her call Woods and Thompson "fat f***ing a**holes" on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." One critic of the former "Revenge Body" host's poor choice of words tweeted, "The problem is she's 'fat shaming' (even though Jordyn isn't fat) when she is suppose to be this ally for body positivity." Kardashian has previously talked about how hurtful it was to hear people comment on her weight. "I understand why some people succumb to eating disorders," she told E! in 2015.
Her strange relationship with Scott Disick
On "Keeping Up With Kardashians," viewers watched Khloé Kardashian forge a special bond with Scott Disick, Kourtney Kardashian's longtime boyfriend. But they weren't always besties. Their relationship was so contentious during the show's early days, in fact, that Khloé went to anger management after she and Disick got into a fight. "He's a douche lord and I hit him," Khloé said during the class.
Later on, their relationship became playful and fun — and a bit spicy. In an episode of "The Kardashians," Disick cracked a joke about wanting to head upstairs with Khloé, who insisted that Disick was like family to her. However, she added, "He does speak to me maybe a little more flirty than my real brother does. The whole thing's f***ing weird." But Lord Disick's lewd comments never seem to bother her all that much, and she even made his jaw drop when they hopped into a bathtub together during an episode of "Kourtney & Khloe Take the Hamptons." (They were wearing swimsuits, BTW.) She blew bubbles at her bathmate and asked, "Scott, do you get shrinkage?" Then there's the time Khloé feigned outrage when she heard a rumor that Disick was dating Kendall Jenner. "Scott, I thought it was you and I that was having the affair!" she tweeted.
In April 2022, a source told Hollywood Life that Kourtney finds the dynamic between her ex and her sister a bit odd, but added, "She's really not worried about it."
Jameela Jamil called her out for her weight loss advertisements
Khlo money, mo' problems. In 2016, Forbes reported that Khloé Kardashian was getting paid as much as $200,000 for her sponsored Instagram posts, but some critics thought she wasn't being ethical by accepting a paycheck to promote Flat Tummy Co.'s controversial weight loss products. Experts told The Guardian that its shakes and detox teas contain unregulated, ineffective ingredients — unless you count the unwanted side effects of the laxatives in the teas.
When "The Good Place" actor Jameela Jamil learned about Kardashian hawking the products in 2019, that's when Instagram really became a bad place for the reality show star. Jamil responded to one of Khloé's ads by calling the fitness fanatic out for failing to inform her followers that her physique was really the result of her diet and workout plan. "It's incredibly awful that this industry bullied you until you became this fixated on your appearance," she wrote. "That's the media's fault. But now please don't put that back into the world, and hurt other girls."
Instead of heeding Jamil's plea, Khloé tweaked the wording of her sponcon. "YES, I also use a personal trainer and nutritionist, but THESE SHAKES WORK to help get your tummy back to flat," she tweeted in January 2020. In response, one of her followers asked, "If you have a nutritionist and a personal trainer then what do these shakes add?" Another skeptic suggested one possible answer: "Diarrhea."
The photo fiasco
In 2021, Khloé Kardashian's team set out on a mission to keep people from seeing a photo of the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star wearing a bikini. Page Six noted that the image didn't look heavily edited, and the difference between it and the pictures Kardashian usually posts on Instagram was striking. According to KKW Brands exec Tracy Romulus, an assistant accidentally shared the image. "Khloé looks beautiful but it is within the right of the copyright owner to not want an image not intended to be published taken down," she said.
On Instagram, Khloé explained that she suffers from body image issues, which is why she wanted the pic scrubbed from the internet. "My body, my image and how I choose to look and what I want to share is my choice," she wrote. She admitted that she does make alterations to her photos, which she's been open about in the past. "Dolls, you know I've never met a filter I didn't like and I don't hate on Photoshop, but there are even more stealth ways to look like you have a sick bod in pics," she wrote on her Khloe With a K website (via Metro) in 2018.
Some critics argued that Khloé is part of the same problem that has caused her insecurity and obsession with Insta perfection. "So Khloe Kardashian would rather have heavily edited very unrealistic photos of her released to the public, setting unrealistic beauty and body standards?" one Twitter user wrote.
Her migraine medication partnership gives the FDA a headache
One of Khloé Kardashian's paid partnerships attracted the attention of the FDA in 2021. The drug company Biohaven Pharmaceuticals had hired the reality star to promote its prescription migraine medication, Nurtec ODT, and she appeared on "The View" to sing its praises. The segment was actually sponsored by Biohaven, which later received a letter from the FDA chastising the pharmaceutical company for failing to adequately warn consumers of Nurtec ODT's potential risks. Kardashian was also accused of making misleading comments about the medication. "These violations are concerning from a public health perspective," the letter read.
Kardashian also started popping up in Nurtec ODT ads on television and social media, where she was criticized for accepting cash to help Big Pharma keep raking in the big bucks. "Is it really necessary to promote big pharma for a paycheck? Disgusting," read one response to a Twitter ad. Other critics pointed out that the price of the medication makes it unaffordable for many who don't have insurance — according to Drugs.com, a package of eight pills can cost nearly $1,000.
While clapping back at a critic of one of her ads, Kardashian tweeted, "I am trying to help many out there who suffer in silence." However, some of her followers weren't buying the story she was selling. "No, you are not trying to help anyone. ... You are doing it for money and pharmaceutical companies are not altruistic organizations," one person responded.
Khloe Kardashian used an ableist slur
During a 2018 Instagram livestream, Khloé Kardashian and her sister, Kourtney, both casually used the R-word. "Are you f***ing r*****ed?" Khloé said to Kourtney as they struggled to connect their phones, per People. On Twitter, a fan called Khloé out for using the offensive word, suggesting that the slur would not be part of her vocabulary if her daughter had one of the disabilities that it's used to derogate. Khloé replied, "Ugh I hate that word! Why did I even say that? You are a million percent right and I actually greatly dislike when people use that word! I will do better! I am sorry!"
Khloé has also been criticized for using ableist language to describe her enthusiasm for organization. In a 2016 episode of her talk show "Kocktails with Khloé," she showed her guests how she carefully stacks cookies inside of glass jars and described herself as "Khlo-C-D," a play on the acronym for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). "When someone says, 'You're OCD,' I'm like, 'That's the best compliment!'" she said. Some fans didn't agree. "I love Khloe but my OCD severely affects my every day life and the fact she said that is so ignorant," one Twitter user wrote.
That same year, Khloé debuted a "Khlo-C-D" series on her app. In it, she shared organization tips. Critics tried again to explain to her why the term was objectionable, with one person pointing out that OCD's association with obsessive neatness is a potentially harmful stereotype.
Fast fashion and a tone-deaf comment about a fan's finances
In 2021, Khloé Kardashian helped promote the fast fashion brand Shein by judging the Shein X 100K Challenge. The China-based company doesn't have the greatest reputation, with a Channel 4 investigation finding that it pays workers dismal wages and requires them to work shifts as long as 18 hours, per The Cut. Shein has also been accused of stealing designs from fashion labels. "Why is Khloe Kardashian promoting SHEIN," tweeted one critic of Kardashian's collab. "Pls I refuse to believe what I am seeing [they're] probs paying her more than they've payed every single one of their workers since they became established."
Kardashian's own clothing label, Good American, has something in common with Shein: It was taken to court for copying designs. Kardashian was accused of borrowing bodysuits from the brand dbleudazzled under the guise of wanting to help promote the company, only to use the pieces as inspo for her own bodysuit line instead. The case was settled out of court.
Kardashian's Good American products and Shein's fast fashion are not in the same price range, as evidenced by a tweet. "So I realized I have to work 20 hours in order to afford @khloekardashian jeans ... and I'm in love with them ... catch me picking up extra shifts," one devoted denim fan wrote. Khloe got blasted for her tone-deaf response: "Awwwwww this is so cute!!!! I'm so happy you enjoy them."
The Snooki snub
According to Snooki, she thought it would be a blast in a glass to meet Khloé Kardashian, but the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star did not greet her reality show rival with a friendly fist pump. In a 2014 episode of her "Nookie with Snooki" web series, Snooki recounted the first time she met Khloé. "She was really mean to me," said the "Jersey Shore" star. "Khloé was like, 'What the f*** is she doing here?' Right to my face!" After seeing the episode, Khloé reached out to Snooki on Twitter to apologize. "Had no idea you thought I was mean to you. Sorry boo!!! You and I are leopard soul sisters. Wishing you love and happiness," she wrote.
Snooki accepted Khloé's apology, and they discussed the snub further when Snooki appeared on "Kocktails with Khloé" in 2016. Snooki said that Kim Kardashian had invited her over to her house, and it was Kim who introduced her to Khloé. After being scornfully dismissed by Khloé, Snooki revealed that she decided to leave. "I was so upset," she said. Khloé had no recollection of the ugly incident but offered a theory about her behavior. "First of all, I don't know why Khlo Money came out at that moment — Khlo Money is my alter ego," she said. "Maybe I was jealous, if you were getting more attention than me."
The unapologetic shaming of adversaries
In a 2015 appearance on "The Breakfast Club," Amber Rose slammed Tyga for dating Kylie Jenner, who was 17 at the time. "She's a baby," said Rose. When Khloé Kardashian clapped back on Twitter, she brought up Rose working as a stripper at age 15. However, she later insisted that she did not slut-shame Rose during their war of words. "I am not one to slut-shame, I have done slutty behavior myself," she told Complex.
But when Kardashian launched another Twitter attack on Chloë Grace Moretz a year later, she got called out for slut-shaming an innocent young woman who had nothing to do with their feud. Moretz had shared her two cents about Taylor Swift and Kanye West's ongoing beef by tweeting, "Everyone in this industry needs to get their heads out of a hole and look around to realize what's ACTUALLY happening in the REAL world." Kardashian responded by sharing a NSFW photo of a blond woman with her butt partially exposed, per Us Weekly. "Is this the a hole you're referring to @ChloeGMoretz ???" she wrote.
Kardashian had apparently thought the woman pictured was Mortez, which was not the case. Instead of apologizing to Moretz or the other woman, Kardashian defended her behavior by tweeting, "I'm the last person to bully but have an animal instinct to protect and defend my family." One critic fired back, "So posting a picture of a woman unknowingly being exposed and photographed, thinking its @ChloeGMoretz isnt bullying?"
DUI lies and a mugshot makeover
In 2007, Khloé Kardashian got arrested for a DUI, and it became a storyline in a first-season episode of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." Khloé used the anniversary of the death of her father, Robert Kardashian, to explain her decision to get behind the wheel after drinking. "I don't think she's really dealt with all the anger and the grief that she has inside," Kris Jenner said in a confessional. After Khloé unleashed her rage on her sisters at their clothing store, viewers got some obvious foreshadowing from Kim Kardashian: "Khloé better get her act together, or something really bad is going to happen to her."
The DUI arrest actually happened many months before the anniversary of Robert's death. The book "Kardashian Dynasty" further explains that the footage of Khloé driving while intoxicated, getting pulled over, and failing her sobriety test was staged, as were her family's reactions to her arrest. The episode even includes a disclaimer noting that some of the scenes are reenactments.
But Khloé's mugshot was the real deal. She originally avoided jail time, according to The U.S. Sun, but because she blew off some court-ordered classes, she got slapped with a 30-day jail sentence. However, she can thank overcrowding for her stay lasting just three hours. She made light of the situation while talking about her mugshot in an episode of "The Kardashians." "IDUI lies and a DUI lies and a mugshot makeoverover." she boasted to her momager.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Photo fails and a flippant remark about a terrible tragedy
Some of Khloé Kardashian's Instagram followers complained that it was disrespectful of her to resume posting as usual so soon after Travis Scott's deadly Astroworld concert in November 2021. "Exactly 3 days after 10 people have died at Astroworld she posts this!!! Insensitive, no care in the world!!!" read a response to a carousel of glam photos. The tragedy was also at the center of a major Kardashian social media scandal fueled by the family's obsession with sharing photos with their fans.
In December 2021, Kim Kardashian uploaded two Instagram photos that appeared to show Kim's daughter, Chicago, and Khloé's daughter, True, having a blast together at Disneyland. So fans were naturally confused in April 2022 when they heard Khloé say, "This is True's first time to Disneyland!" in a video on her Instagram Story. On Twitter, Khloé admitted to slipping up and ruining their ruse, and Kim used her Instagram Story to reveal the truth: True's face had been photoshopped over that of Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott's daughter, Stormi.
Khloe later explained why Jenner was cool with the change. "There was a time of drama or something, so she didn't want Stormi out there," she said on the "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast." When fans realized that the "drama" she was likely referring to was the Astroworld tragedy, they were appalled. "Normally I stand for Khloe. This blows. People dying is not drama," one Redditor wrote.
Khloe Kardashian's big and little lies
Khloé Kardashian can't always punctuate what she says with an emphatic "Bible!" She's fessed up to fibbing a few times, like when she stopped her fertility treatments but made her ex Lamar Odom believe that she was still trying to get pregnant. "I knew the circumstances weren't the healthiest. So, I just kept pretending I was doing it," she later confessed on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."
While she was with Odom, Kardashian hid another heartbreaking truth from her family members, friends, and fans. "Last year on my birthday I lied to everyone because I had to lie and say I was with my husband when in fact my husband was missing with another girl," she said during a 2014 "KUWTK" episode. "I was alone and lied to everyone."
In 2015, Kardashian got caught telling a smaller lie about pies. On Instagram, she seemingly tried to take credit for baking a trio of the desserts. However, pie purveyor Jane Lockhart knew that the aesthetically pleasing cherry, pumpkin, and pecan pies in Kardashian's photo were the work of her business, Sweet Lady Jane bakery. "The nerve. When I saw the pies on her table I thought, 'She has to be kidding me,'" Lockhart told the Daily News. Instead of editing her Instagram post to give the bakery credit for the crusty confections, Kardashian later tweeted, "Try not to choke on my nuts." We'll just assume she was talking about pecans.