Sometimes, even a powerhouse like Kim Kardashian has to face her critics.
This week, she shared a post that was not an ad, or about fashion. She just wanted to talk about a “life saving machine.”
Medical technology can be very exciting. But Kim’s post may have missed the mark.
All across social media, people are calling her out for being tone deaf.
On her post on Tuesday, Kim very excitedly spoke about the full-body scan that she recently underwent.
“I recently did this @prenuvo scan,” she announced.
“And,” Kim contnued, she simply “had to tell you all about this life saving machine.”
“The Prenuvo full-body scan has the ability to detect cancer,” Kim detailed.
She continued: “and diseases such as aneurysms in its earliest stages, before symptoms arise.” That’s the key to beating many otherwise deadly ailments.
“It was like getting a MRI for an hour with no radiation,” Kim shared. “It has really saved some of my friends lives and I just wanted to share.”
Additionally, Kim clarified that this post was simply authentic excitement, and “#NotAnAd.”
Notably, she and other influencers must identify ads when they post them on social media. The alternative means risking a fine.
But this company seemingly did not pay Kim or secure any deal with her to promote their product. She just thought that it was neat, and important.
So what’s the problem? She didn’t write anything mean, or appropriate any marginalized cultures. What’s the deal?
You have probably already guessed.
Kim’s post really rubbed a lot of people the wrong way because it seems so, so out of touch with the vast majority of Americans.
That safe, one-hour scan that Kim mentioned?
According to the company’s website, it costs $2,499.
Pocket change for Kim. Two or three months’ rent for millions of Americans.
This kind of life-saving healthcare technology could save someone’s life, and tens- or hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt.
But most people cannot afford anything like this. Which means that doctors will catch these conditions later. Possibly, too late.
Even insurance equality measures like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act leave out countless Americans. And just because someone has health insurance doesn’t mean that they can afford regular check-ups, let alone this kind of scan.
Obviously, Kim has grown a great deal as a person since her crying and wailing over losing an earring. (Remember the “Kim, there’s people that are dying?” quip from Kourtney?)
But it looks like, in her earnest excitement about this medical technology, she forgot how woefully inaccessible this is.
People whose middle class incomes still have them delaying grocery trips until the next paycheck … just aren’t going to share her enthusiasm. All of these breakthroughs are meaningless when they remain the sole domain of the wealthy.
