Kendall Jenner's Latest Social Media Controversy Explained

The response to any Kendall Jenner social media post (or any Jenner-Kardashian social media post, for that matter) is about an even split between adoring fans giving the model snaps and livid detractors calling her out. Sometimes the criticism is warranted, and sometimes it's less so. You remember the massive backlash to her vaguely social justice adjacent Pepsi ad, right? Right. 

We'll let you make up your own mind as to whether or not the latest backlash is warranted. It involves her already much-maligned marketing for her tequila brand, 818, which has been called out for cultural appropriation, according to Elle. Fans were offended to see Kendall marketing her tequila brand by wearing traditionally Mexican clothing and styles, even though Kendall is not Mexican.

This time, the criticism is less about Mexican culture than it is about drinking culture. It began when Kendall (apparently in all innocence) posted a photo of her tequila brand as part of a carousel of "things I love" on her Instagram. So why the outrage?

In addition to photos of a dog, cars, a horse, and what appears to be a blood transfusion, Kendall Jenner's Instagram carousel of her favorite things included a shot of the model sipping 818 tequila straight from the bottle with a straw. Some people saw the February 2 pic as a harmlessly goofy bit of self-promotion. Others saw it as a dangerous endorsement of binge drinking. 

On a Reddit thread (via BuzzFeed), one commenter wrote, "It may be an unpopular opinion but I think this type of promo is actually quite irresponsible." Others agreed, "I came here to say this too, this is a really dangerous picture honestly, there is a reason 'Drink Responsibly' exists," someone else wrote. Another person just seemed grossed out, writing, "The thought of drinking tequila from a bottle with a straw makes me want to vomit." However, back in the comments section on the original post, most commenters seem more preoccupied with the totally context-free bottles of blood. "So we're not gonna talk about the blood picture?" one person commented. Another queried, "What's the Kardashian obsession with blood?"

We get what she's doing with the tequila, but we'll leave it to the woman herself to explain the blood.