Kendall and Kylie Jenner Under Fire Over ‘Racist’ Tupac and Biggie Shirts

The $125 shirts have since been pulled from their website amid backlash.

June 30, 2017 10:41 am
Kylie and Kendall Jenner in Beverly Hills, California. (Getty)
Kylie and Kendall Jenner in Beverly Hills, California. (Getty)

Kendall and Kylie are getting a bad rap for a major fashion faux pas.

The reality TV stars are being blasted online after releasing “vintage” t-shirts that feature their faces overlapping photos of the late rap artists Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. Many social media users say that the two used their Kendall + Kylie fashion brand to profit off of African American culture, Fox News is reporting.

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“Kendall Jenner selling a shirt with her face overlayed [sic] on top of Tupac is literally racism and I won’t stand for it,” Twitter user Lauren Olivo wrote.

“Pathetic attempt to put your face onto geniuses and classic arts,” user Luke Tao echoed.

The heat didn’t just come from users: Biggie’s mother Voletta Wallace wrote in a furious Instagram post that the Jenners did not reach out to The Notorious B.I.G. Estate about using the musician’s likeness.

“The disrespect of these girls to not even reach out to me or anyone connected to the estate baffles me. I have no idea why they feel they can exploit the deaths of 2pac and my Son Christopher to sell a t-shirt,” Wallace wrote.

The Estate’s lawyer reportedly issued a cease and desist letter demanding that the sisters take down the shirts — which they promptly did.


“These designs were not well thought out and we deeply apologize to anyone that has been upset and/or offended, especially to the families of the artists,” the Jenners wrote in a joint statement on Twitter. “We are huge fans of their music and it was not our intention to disrespect these cultural icons in any way. The tee shirts have been pulled from retail and all images have been removed. We will use this as an opportunity to learn from these mistakes and again, we are very sorry.”

This isn’t the first time Kendall Jenner has been accused of racism. Earlier this year, her participation in a highly controversial Pepsi ad —deemed by some as one of the “most offensive ads ever” — sparked international headlines and debate about cultural appropriation in popular media.

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