Taking sides. Naomi Campbell has made it clear that she’s not on board with Kim Kardashian’s Vogue photo shoot. The 51-year-old model “liked” an Instagram post that accused the 41-year-old fashion designer of blackfishing.
Following the release of the cover and the accompanying spread, fashion account Diet Prada pointed out that the Skims founder recreated fashion and beauty moments made famous by Black celebrities and icons.
“Kim and Vogue said ‘Black History Month,’” the Instagram account captioned a gallery of images, adding a handful of hashtags including #blackfishing and #blackgirlmagic.
In the gallery of images, the account drew comparison’s between Kardashian’s looks and those modeled by Beyoncé, Nina Simone and Campbell herself. The post attracted over 200,000 likes — including one from the Empire star.
Followers took notice of Campbell’s subtle shade. “Not Naomi liking the post,” a user wrote, while another said, “Helpppp Naomi liked it.”
Other users took to the comments section to echo the page’s blackfishing accusation. “I immediately thought about Nina Simone for the second pic. The rest are spot on as well,” a user wrote, while another said, “Literally the first thing that came to mind was Beyoncé.”
People took a similar tune on Twitter. “Kim Kardashian and Vogue said #HappyBlackHistoryMonth here’s some Blackfishing to celebrate,” one person tweeted. Another said, “Kim’s cover of Vogue would’ve been so beautiful if she wasn’t blackfishing.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Kardashian for comment.
This is not the first time that the reality star has been accused of blackfishing. In fact, the star addressed the repeated claims that she has appropriated Black hairstyles in a December 2021 interview with i-D.
“I would never do anything to appropriate any culture,” she said. “But I have in the past got backlash from putting my hair in braids and I understand that.”
She went on to explain that a lot of times when she wears the styles it’s because her 8-year-old daughter North, whom she shares with ex Kanye West, wants “matching hair.”
“I’ve had these conversations with her that are like, ‘Hey, maybe this hairstyle would be better on you and not on me.’ But I also want her to feel that I can do a hairstyle with her and not make it that big of a deal either if that’s something that she’s really asking for and really wants.”
She added: “That’s also a history of braiding hair in Armenia and people forget that I am Armenian as well.”