Kim Kardashian Reflects on Controversial 2009 Photoโค Shoot with Justin bieber, Says โฃShe “Should’ve Been Canceled”
Kim Kardashian has revisited a 2009 photo shoot with a then-16-year-old Justin Bieber, admitting she now recognizes the โsituation was โข”not the โmost appropriate thing” and expressingโ surprise she didn’t face greater backlash. The revelation came during a recentโ interview on the Callโข Her Daddy podcast.
The images, โoriginallyโข published in V* magazine and resurfaced online,โข depicted Kardashian andโข Bieber holding hands and gazing intoโ each other’s eyes onโ a beach in the bahamas. Other photos showed Bieber kissing Kardashian on the cheek and โขKardashian playfully brushing a rose against Bieber’s face. Reflecting on theโข shoot, Kardashian, now 43,โ stated, “I must have โคbeen 30 yearsโ oldโฆ Nothing everโฃ weird was happening. Iโค just think that was an odd โconcept, and why none ofโค us thoughtโข that was odd at the timeโฆ but nowโ I look back, and I’m like, ‘That would haveโค not been the most โappropriate thing.'”
The discussionโ resurfaces at โขa time of โheightenedโ scrutiny regarding age gapsโ and power dynamics in celebrityโข relationships and collaborations. While the photos circulatedโค widely at the time, the current cultural climate surrounding these โขissues has prompted renewedโ examination of the shoot. โฃKardashian’s acknowledgementโค of its problematic natureโ adds to a broader conversation about accountability and โฃevolving societal standards.
Despite the retrospective criticism,โ Kardashian maintains she has “neverโฃ really done anything toโข be canceled” and “stands by everything” she’s done, asserting she’s “never said anything โcrazy” or “done anything crazy.”
Bieber, now โฃ30, has โฃsince married model Hailey Bieber, who is close friends with Kardashian’s sister, Kendall Jenner. He is also aโค father to a โ1-year-old son. Kardashian’s full interviewโข is available on the *Call Her Daddy podcast.