Kim Kardashian’s Team Addresses ‘Private’ Photo of Khloe Being Wiped From the Internet

After a “private” photo of Khloé Kardashian in a swimsuit went viral on social media, Tracy Romulus, the chief marketing officer of Kim Kardashian‘s KKW Brands, is speaking out about why the shot is being taken down en masse by the Kardashian team. In a statement to Page Six Monday, Romulus said the “color edited photo” was taken of Khloé during a “private family gathering” and posted to social media without permission and by mistake by an assistant.

“Khloé looks beautiful but it is within the right of the copyright owner to not want an image not intended to be published taken down,” she continued. The Good American co-founder posted her own image from the weekend in Palm Springs, sharing a shot in a purple bikini she captioned, “The Purple Eater.”

Khloé has yet to comment on the unauthorized photo, which social media users have alleged looks like an actual unedited photo of the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, but has admitted to using Facetune and Photoshop on her images in the past. The speculation on her changing appearance is nevertheless difficult, she admitted in an Instagram comment last month.

“I don’t want anyone to kiss my a—. I’m not asking for that,” she wrote. “But what I am asking for is for people to realize just what articles like this does to someone’s soul and confidence. I am so very grateful and appreciative of anyone who stands up to bullying or people writing story’s simply for clickbait. Defending someone, especially when we don’t know one another makes me heart happy. That’s the person I am. I like to defend what is right.”

Khloé also took to Twitter in February to deny that the distorted images used in her Good American campaign were the result of a “Photoshop fail.” She began a lengthy tweet thread, “HA I’m cracking up! [For a] few of those [Good American] photos, we shot on a camera lens that creates a stretching effect. The closer the object is to camera they will get elongated. So in some of my photos my feet/fingers look incredibly long. Not to worry! I still have normal size hands/fingers.”

“It’s just the lens guys!” she continued. “LOL but some of these stories are really reaching! … It’s the angle and the type of lens. And personally I think this camera lens is so f—ing cool. It gives the photo a different vibe and not the same old visual I always see. Either way, I’m happy with them.”