It seems as though Kim Kardashian might just be in her All Lives Matter era. On Tuesday 7 May 2024, the SKIMS owner and reality TV star made her way to Germany (on her private jet, of course) to be a guest speaker at the OMR Festival in Hamburg—a conference revolving around the most relevant and current digital marketing trends and topics. In the middle of the CEO’s appearance, a woman in the audience got up out of her seat and shouted “Free Palestine.” A few moments passed, and Kardashian replied: “Free everybody.”
To say that the video is an awkward watch would be an understatement. Something interesting that Jezebel points out is that Kardashian had every opportunity not to respond. The conference would have carried on and this moment would’ve likely not made its way into the headlines of every major publication. She just had to say something, didn’t she?
At the Online Marketing Stars conference in Germany, a protestor started chanting “Free Palestine!”
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) May 8, 2024
Kim Kardashian, who was in conversation with @karaswisher, responded: “free everybody.” pic.twitter.com/90FDBz7tMK
The pro-Palestinian protester was later ushered out of the hall by security.
Kardashian’s response definitely received the attention of social media. And while some cheered the reality TV star on, the majority of the internet condemned the statement, deeming it ignorant:
free palestine. fuck you, kim kardashian.
— poor mnisi 🇵🇸 (@unskinnycherry) May 8, 2024
FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸. and a special fuck you to Kim Kardashian for saying the nonsense she said ‘free everybody’ girl what the fuck does that mean? 😭
— Jude. (@foligarba) May 8, 2024
Kim Kardashian saying “free everybody” with the most arrogant look on her face responding to a protestor saying “free Palestine” is definitely something.
— TYRANT (@ali_ensuperstar) May 8, 2024
Following this initial backlash, Kardashian later stated: “I sympathise with the people of Israel and with those in Palestine. I sympathise with everybody. All we want is for everyone to feel safe and free.”
Kardashian, alongside a number of other celebrities, also recently faced backlash for attending the 2024 Met Gala on Monday 6 May. Many netizens shared their outrage with Western media publications being far more interested in covering stories regarding Kardashian’s miniscule waist, as opposed to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The artist Macklemore launched a song in support of #Palestine. Views on Instagram only had more than 54 million views, however, the Western media still focused on Kim Kardashian's waist at the Met Gala! Until when did the media ignore the movement? https://t.co/fJGVUNR6aT
— Roaa Elhag (@Roaarabi2) May 8, 2024