Scandal alert. Khloé Kardashian‘s team took down an unedited bikini photo that was accidentally posted online — and the controversy has certainly rocked social media.
It all started on Sunday, April 4, amid the Kardashian-Jenners’ family Easter celebrations. While the Keeping Up With the Kardashians stars were enjoying the holiday at matriarch Kris Jenner‘s Palm Springs home, the unedited image started making the rounds on the internet. The picture depicted the Good American founder rocking a tiny cheetah-print string bikini while makeup-free. She also wore her hair in a ponytail for the shot.
The Revenge Body host was not pleased by the leak. An insider told Life & Style that Khloé “went ballistic” when the snapshot went viral. “She hated it and demanded her team take it down,” the source noted on Tuesday, April 6, adding that the photo isn’t something “she would have posted without some serious altering.”
The reality star has come under fire many times for allegedly Photoshopping her photos over the years. “Making such a fuss about this one slipping through the cracks just shows how desperate she is to convey an image that really isn’t her,” the insider continued. “Fans love the real Khloé; the way she really looks. It’s very hypocritical to tell your fans to own their body types when you can’t do it yourself. It’s disappointing.”
Tracy Romulus, who serves as chief marketing officer for KKW Brands — and close pal to Kim Kardashian — released a statement about the situation to Page Six on Monday, April 5.
“The color edited photo was taken of Khloé during a private family gathering and posted to social media without permission by mistake by an assistant,” rapper Kanye West‘s former publicist told the outlet. “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.”
It seems the photo has, in fact, been scrubbed from the internet. The person behind the Instagram account that allegedly posted the photo, @problematicfame, claims they cannot “legally” speak on the incident, but have removed the photo from their account. However, the candid snapshot allegedly originated on a secret Instagram account belonging to Kris’ mother, Mary Jo “MJ” Campbell.
Scroll through the gallery below to get a full breakdown of Khloé’s unedited bikini photo controversy.