Makeup mogul Kylie Jenner offered her "love and prayers" to fans during the coronavirus pandemic, but the delivery of the message did not make many feel like she was. Jenner posted the positive message Thursday, reminding her millions of followers the outbreak will be over one day, alongside a photo of herself in a sultry pose. Most Twitter users found this to be an empty gesture.
"Sending out my love and prayers. [And] hoping this will all be over soon," Jenner wrote on Thursday. The message was paired with a photo of herself sitting in her driveway, posing in a one-piece grey outfit and matching grey Nike sneakers. The post garnered almost 8.4 million likes and thousands of comments from her fans. Many of the messages on Instagram were positive, but on Twitter, she was skewered.
Jenner is a billionaire thanks to her makeup business and has helped in the fight against the coronavirus in Los Angeles. Late last month, she urged her young audience to take the pandemic seriously and to continue staying inside. "Please say inside, practice social distancing, self-quarantine," she said at the time. "If you live with your parents, you don't want to go home and get your parents sick. You might have it and not even know, infecting other people. The only way we're going to slow this down is if we do this because there's no cure right now. Nobody is immune to this, millennials are not immune to this."
Dr. Thais Alaibadi, who works as an OB-GYN at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, revealed on Instagram on March 25 that Jenner donated $1 million to help the hospital buy masks, face shields and other protective gear. "From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU [Jenner]," Alaibadi wrote. "You are my hero. This generous donation will help save many precious lives. Our world is a better place with you in it. I love you so much."
On April 11, Beverly Hills surgeon Dr. Shirin Towfigh revealed Jenner's Kylie Skin donated 6,000 pounds of hand sanitizer. "This has all been a true labor of [love]. Thank you to [Jenner and Jenner's mother Kris Jenner] for your generous donation and warm [love]," Towfigh wrote. Despite actions like these, Jenner was still criticized on Twitter.
'I think we'll get through this after all'
'At least we have Kylie Jenner's love and prayers'
'Love and prayers are good but they don't pay these bills'
'Can you also send $ our way too?'
'How about donating money to the healthcare workers!'
Jenner's Nike shoes are worth $2,000
The expensive shoes Jenner wore in the new photo are unreleased Dior x Air Jordan high-top sneakers, reports Footwear News. The shoes were supposed to be released this months, but they were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. No new release date has been set, but only 8,500 pairs were set to be made. Prices started at $2,000 before they hit the resale market.