Kylie Jenner has come under fire for her latest Kylie Cosmetics campaign, with critics calling the ad “tone deaf” for depicting her being escorted in handcuffs by men dressed as police officers, a move many say is insensitive given the ongoing immigration raids across the United States
The 28-year-old beauty mogul recently began teasing the return of her “King Kylie” collection, marking ten years since the launch of her iconic lip kits. In the controversial video, Jenner is shown strutting through a jail corridor flanked by uniformed officers, hands cuffed behind her back, before appearing in other scenes sitting in front of mirrors marked with lipstick smears, as if counting the days of confinement.
The imagery sparked immediate backlash online, with fans and commentators accusing Jenner of glamorizing incarceration and trivializing law enforcement at a time when immigration raids by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) have intensified. Protesters across major U.S. cities have condemned recent mass arrests, including “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago, which led to the detention of more than 800 people.
Social media users flooded platforms like Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) with criticism. One user wrote, “This family knows nothing about what real people are going through. Walking through jail in lingerie and heels while people are being dragged from their homes — this is not cute.” Another commented, “Why do the super rich keep romanticizing being poor or in trouble with the law? It’s beyond tone deaf.”
Many also drew comparisons to Kendall Jenner’s infamous 2017 Pepsi advertisement, which was slammed for appearing to trivialize the Black Lives Matter movement.
Others described the ad as “disrespectful” and “out of touch” during a period when “families are disappearing” due to deportations. One critic wrote, “The country’s boiling over citizens are being dragged off by rogue badge-hungry cops, and Kylie Jenner releases a handcuffed hot-pants photoshoot to sell lipstick. This isn’t edgy; it’s grotesque.”
Following the backlash, Jenner limited comments on her Instagram posts but continued promoting the collection, writing, “This King Kylie Collection is truly for you! You’re the reason my biggest cosmetic dreams came true, and I wouldn’t be here, 10 years later, without your support.”
