Kim Kardashian just took out a full-page ad in a prominent print publication for a reason you may not guess right off the bat. This past Saturday, newspaper readers were in for a surprise when they opened up their papers to see a full-page ad from Kim Kardashian in The New York Times. It had nothing to do with Kanye West and Taylor Swift, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, or trying to "break the internet" all over again (though, she easily could). Instea, the ad was in response to an April Wall Street Journal ad, with which the media outlet ran an message that seemed to deny the Armenian genocide ever happened. As fans of Kardashian know, the Armenian genocide is an issue she doesn't take lightly and something she won't remain quiet about.
That's exactly the point behind her full-page ad where she blasts the WSJ's decision with a lengthy and passionate letter, which is titled, "#StraightUp Genocide Denial Cannot Be Allowed." She opened the ad by writing,
My family and I are no strangers to BS in the press. We've learned to brush it off. Lies make good headlines, good headlines make great covers, great covers sell great magazines. But when I heard about this full-page ad that ran in the Wall Street Journal denying the Armenian genocide, I just couldn't brush it off.
The 35-year-old reality star goes onto explain that "the ad was paid by Turkic Platform" in order to express their belief "that not as many people died as historians say, and that the Armenians were to blame." According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, "Of approximately 1.5 million Armenians living in the multiethnic Ottoman Empire, at least 664,000 and possibly as many as 1.2 million were massacred or died as a result of systematic abuse from Ottoman authorities from 1915–16." Gawker also reached out to the WSJ for comment about why they ran the ad and a spokesperson responded, "We accept a wide range of advertisements, including those with provocative viewpoints. While we review ad copy for issues of taste, the varied and divergent views expressed belong to the advertisers."
Still, Kardashian is furious and is using her celebrity powers to let everyone know how she feels. Her full-page ad also goes to show anyone who may not be a Kardashian fan that she's not just a reality star. No matter how you feel about her, there is no denying that when it comes to an issue close to Kardashian's heart, she won't let it slide:
In April 2015, Kardashian, her sister Khloé Kardashian, Kanye West, North West, and their cousins, Kourtni and Kara Kardashian, all visited Armenia before the April 24 centennial of the 1915 mass killings of the Armenians. During their trip, they also went to the memorial for the victims (above).
In a letter written for TIME magazine in April 2015, she once again expressed why it's so important for the Armenian genocide to be recognized. "The whole point of remembering the genocide is to make sure it doesn’t happen again," she wrote at the time. "A million-and-a-half people were brutally massacred, and a country can just pretend like it never happened? I don’t think that’s right." She also added, "Now is the time to speak out, and every little bit helps. I will continue to ask the questions and fight for the genocide to be recognized for what it was."
So for those who may be wondering if Kardashian's interest in the Armenian genocide is something new, it's not. Her family originated from Armenia, so this is an important topic of conversation. And her ad in the Times certainly proves that Kardashian is so much more than that celebrity who gets criticized for being "too sexy."
