If you come for someone's kids, expecting anything less than a savage reaction is outrageous. Many parents in the limelight have made that clear over the years. This time, it's Kim Kardashian.
Kim channeled her inner mama bear after trolls completely lost it over a post on her Instagram stories. She shared a beautiful painting and revealed it was done by her 7-year-old daughter, North West. It was a very Bob Ross-style creation, which many determined was out of the realm of possibility for a kid her age to create.
People accused Kim of lying about North painting the picture. They also accused her of stealing the photo from close friend Tracy Romulus, who posted a picture of a similar painting by her 8-year-old daughter, Ryan. Ryan and North are best friends, so it's not surprising that Tracy stepped up and informed trolls that the girls are taking art classes with the same instructor.
Still, the photo went viral as people made memes slamming Kim for lying about her daughter's talents. Kim made sure to keep that same critical energy when responding to the entirely unnecessary controversy around the painting.
Kim Kardashian is used to trolls coming after her. To her credit, she ignores a lot when you consider the amount of criticism she receives for any given thing in a day. When it comes to her kids, however, that's a whole other story.
On Monday night, Kim shared a photo of a painting on her Instagram stories. The gorgeous landscape was signed by her 7-year-old daughter, North West.
"My little artist North," she captioned the shot.
The internet wasted no time trying to poke holes in Kim's story. "North West" and "Bob Ross" (whom the painting reminded people of) began trending across social media as people slammed Kim, saying she lied about who painted the picture.
They accused her of doing the most for attention, slamming the family as attention seekers as a whole. It's the usual kind of thing you see when anything Kardashian-related starts to trend.
They also accused Kim of passing off a photo of longtime friend Tracy Romulus' daughter's painting as North's. Ryan is 8 years old and happens to be North's best friend. Tracy said her piece in some Instagram comments, later taking her explanation to Twitter.
"I hate that I have to comment but grown adults are putting a lot of energy into questioning whether or not my daughter and her best friend actually really painted the works we have shared proudly as parents," she tweeted.
"Both girls are in an art class together and learning oil painting techniques from an instructor. They spend weeks at a time on a single painting and are incredibly proud of themselves once they complete a project," she continued.
"They are following a curriculum but the works are original starting from a blank canvas and each child's own interpretation. Please stop with the negativity at @ me with your doubts, it's people like you who keep a child from dreaming big and reaching their fullest potential."
On Tuesday, Kim also responded to the trolls with a lengthy post on her Instagram story. She went full fierce to let haters know her kids are where she draws the line.
"DON'T PLAY WITH ME WHEN IT COMES TO MY CHILDREN!!!" she began.
"My daughter and her best friend have been taking a serious oil painting class where their talents and creativity are being encouraged and nurtured," she continued.
"North worked incredibly hard on her painting with took several weeks to complete. As a proud mom, I wanted to share her work with everyone."
There were plenty of people out there who were praising North's artistic talents. They noted that it must be in the West genes, with some even unearthing some of Kanye's old artwork from his childhood. He started receiving formal art instruction at 4 years old.
Even the daughter of North and Ryan's art teacher decided to come to Kim's defense. She shared an explanation of her mom's teachings on TikTok. She also showed a photo of her having created the same painting when she was a kid.
We all know that kids should be off limits, but that doesn't stop people from taking that step too far. And if you're shaming North in the name of Bob Ross, I have a feeling you've never really listened to anything Bob Ross had to say. Props to Kim and Kanye for nurturing North's talents at a young age.
