Kylie Jenner has come under fire for a new promotional video for her Kylie Cosmetics line, which features the billionaire being escorted by fake police officers in handcuffs. The clip, released on Saturday, is part of her ‘King Kylie’ collection revival, but critics have branded it ‘tone-deaf’ and ‘out of touch’ amid heightened US immigration enforcement.
The short video shows Jenner, 28, being led through a mock jail corridor by two men dressed as police officers, while she poses in black lingerie and sheer tights. The imagery has been criticised for coinciding with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and police crackdowns dominating US headlines.
Online reaction has been fierce, with one Reddit user writing: ‘Citizens are being dragged off by rent-a-cops and Kylie Jenner drops a handcuffed hot-pants shoot to sell cosmetics. This isn’t satire; it’s American rot.’ Others drew comparisons to her sister Kendall Jenner’s infamous 2017 Pepsi advert, which was widely condemned for trivialising social justice protests.
The ‘King Kylie’ branding has also been criticised for clashing with the recent ‘No Kings’ protest movement against authoritarianism. One X user wrote: ‘There are No Kings rallies going on across the world and you choose to post this? Read the room!’ Another added: ‘Why are you using the carceral system as branding material? This white-supremacist imagery is gross.’
Despite the backlash, Jenner has continued to promote the collection, confirming on Sunday that she had filmed a sequel to her 2016 ‘Glosses’ campaign, directed by Colin Tilley. The King Kylie collection officially launches on October 18.
