Kylie Jenner has defended her promotion of a makeup artist’s crowdfunder after receiving a backlash from fans.
Last week, the reality star posted about a fundraiser for makeup artist Samuel Rauda, who had to have major surgery after being severely injured in an accident.
On 18 March, Jenner wrote: “May God watch over you and protect you @makeupbysamuel. Everyone take a moment to say a prayer for Sam who got into an accident this past weekend. And swipe up to visit his families [sic] go fund me.”
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However, some fans hit out at Jenner, criticising her for asking fans to donate, with some pointing out that, according to Forbes, she was the highest paid celebrity of last year.
She said: “I feel it’s important for me to clear up this false narrative that I’ve asked fans for money and am not paying for my makeup artist’s medical bills.
“Sam isn’t my makeup artist and unfortunately we don’t have a personal relationship anymore but I have worked with him a few years ago and think he’s the sweetest. I saw my current makeup artist and friend Ariel post about Sam’s accident and his family’s GoFundMe and I called Ariel immediately to see what happened to Sam.
“After learning in more detail about the accident it compelled me to visit his GoFundMe which was set at 10K. They had already raised 6K so I put in 5K to reach their original goal and thought I’d post on my stories to gain more awareness if anyone also felt compelled to share or donate.
“I don’t know how all of this got so twisted but his family has reached out through Ariel and are very appreciative of all the donations, prayers and love towards Sam.”
She continued: “Anyone that knows me knows that I do things from the heart and I try to be helpful whenever I can be.”
Fans pointed out that, even though Jenner wasn’t friends with Rauda, her donation was still modest compared with her wealth.
One Twitter user wrote: “Honestly this is infuriating. Yeah it may not be her friend anymore but if she wanted to help she could have have more than 5k that’s a penny to her. It’s like seeing a homeless man and giving him a penny.”
Others defended the star, saying that her actions had resulted in Rauda’s medical bills being funded.
One person tweeted: “Either way he got 60k right ? Even if she ain’t personally give it to him he still got it from HER supporters meanwhile your friend won’t even take you to your job orientation.”
