Courting backlash is the Kardashian way.
And Kendall Jenner sure courted a lot of it by throwing a packed, maskless birthday and Halloween party over the weekend, as new coronavirus cases in the US climbed to nearly 100,000 per day.
Los Angeles County leads US counties in confirmed cases and deaths, but there seemed no awareness of that at Kendall’s birthday bash in Hollywood, which counted famous guests like The Weeknd, model Winnie Harlow, Scott Disick, Justin Bieber, Jaden Smith and more.
Kendall, who turns 25 on 3 November, was “having a great time” and personally greeted guests, who numbered “at least” 50, E! News reported.
“Everyone was drinking and dancing on the outdoor terrace. It was a huge dance party,” an anonymous source told E!.
“Kendall was the star of the show.”
Kendall’s sisters Kylie Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian and Kim Kardashian also attended the party.
The bash followed Kim’s own 40th celebration on a private island that drew what seemed like global outrage.
Also, a Keeping Up With the Kardashians episode revealed that Khloe Kardashian had tested positive for coronavirus earlier this year.
“Let me tell you, that shit is real,” Khloe said in a widely-shared clip from the episode. “But, we’re all gonna get through this.”
Perhaps in an attempt to limit the inevitable backlash to Kendall’s party, a note photographed at the celebration urged attendees not to share photos on social media. Nevertheless, both Kylie and Kim posted photos from the bash on Instagram.
Kendall later posted photos with friends from the party, but turned off the comments on her Instagram.
Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t turn off the comments on Twitter:
Though Kim didn’t directly address the criticism of her over-the-top 40th birthday bash, she did caption an Instagram post: “Now that I have your attention... this a reminder to VOTE” and continued to post pictures of Kendall’s party.
It seemed as though Kendall’s party costume ― and her “vote” flag ― followed Kim’s messaging:
Though that didn’t work, perhaps Kris Jenner or another Kardashian-Jenner sister will appear on Ellen DeGeneres’ show to explain.
Khloe addressed Kim’s celebration during an appearance on Ellen last week.
“I don’t really know the extent of [the backlash], but this year is a frustrating year,” Khloe told the talk show host.
“I get it. I think there’s so many frustrations going on for everybody. But also it’s her 40th. This is something that she wanted to do for us. It was such a nice thing.”