Back in 2010, Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber did a high-profile photoshoot for Elle magazine that quickly became a talking point in pop culture.
The shoot, set in the Bahamas, was explicitly based on the 1967 film The Graduate, which tells the story of an older woman, Mrs. Robinson, who seduces a younger college graduate.
At the time, Bieber was just 16 years old and Kardashian was 29, a significant age gap that the magazine leaned into heavily for the feature.
The images, which showed a bikini-clad Kardashian and the teen pop star in various flirtatious poses—including running on the beach and looking intimately into each other's eyes—immediately sparked controversy.
Many critics at the time, and retrospectively on social media, deemed the concept "creepy" and "inappropriate," particularly for the clear sexualization of a minor.
Some even accused the magazine and the star of promoting a "groomer" narrative.
Fast forward to today, and Kim, now 44, has publicly acknowledged her discomfort with the shoot.
In a new episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast with Alex Cooper, Kardashian was asked what she should be "canceled" for but wasn't.
She cited the Justin Bieber photoshoot as the one thing that makes her most uneasy.
"I don't know who approved this—or who thought this was normal, this narrative," Kardashian stated, admitting that even at the time, the concept felt "odd."
She confirmed that despite the seductive theme, "nothing ever weird was obviously happening," noting that Bieber's parents and his then-girlfriend, Selena Gomez, were all present on the set in the Bahamas.
However, she emphasized that looking back with a modern perspective, she now sees how truly inappropriate the concept was.
The moment is a significant reflection of how societal standards regarding the sexualization of young male stars and older-woman/younger-man narratives have shifted over the past decade and a half.
The Context of the Controversy
The backlash to the 2010 shoot wasn't just about the photos.
In a video released at the time to promote the feature, Kardashian joked about trying to set Bieber up with her then-14-year-old sister, Kendall Jenner.
When Bieber playfully responded in an interview that he "liked" Kim instead, it only fueled the narrative that the Elle shoot had established.
Even years later, the images are frequently brought up online to illustrate the double standard often present in how the media sexualizes young male celebrities compared to their female counterparts.
Do you think the media has truly learned to avoid these types of controversial age-gap themes in photoshoots, or could something similar happen today? Share your thoughts on how celebrity culture has changed in the comments below!
The shoot, set in the Bahamas, was explicitly based on the 1967 film The Graduate, which tells the story of an older woman, Mrs. Robinson, who seduces a younger college graduate.
At the time, Bieber was just 16 years old and Kardashian was 29, a significant age gap that the magazine leaned into heavily for the feature.
The images, which showed a bikini-clad Kardashian and the teen pop star in various flirtatious poses—including running on the beach and looking intimately into each other's eyes—immediately sparked controversy.
Many critics at the time, and retrospectively on social media, deemed the concept "creepy" and "inappropriate," particularly for the clear sexualization of a minor.
Some even accused the magazine and the star of promoting a "groomer" narrative.
Fast forward to today, and Kim, now 44, has publicly acknowledged her discomfort with the shoot.
In a new episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast with Alex Cooper, Kardashian was asked what she should be "canceled" for but wasn't.
She cited the Justin Bieber photoshoot as the one thing that makes her most uneasy.
"I don't know who approved this—or who thought this was normal, this narrative," Kardashian stated, admitting that even at the time, the concept felt "odd."
She confirmed that despite the seductive theme, "nothing ever weird was obviously happening," noting that Bieber's parents and his then-girlfriend, Selena Gomez, were all present on the set in the Bahamas.
However, she emphasized that looking back with a modern perspective, she now sees how truly inappropriate the concept was.
The moment is a significant reflection of how societal standards regarding the sexualization of young male stars and older-woman/younger-man narratives have shifted over the past decade and a half.
The Context of the Controversy
The backlash to the 2010 shoot wasn't just about the photos.
In a video released at the time to promote the feature, Kardashian joked about trying to set Bieber up with her then-14-year-old sister, Kendall Jenner.
When Bieber playfully responded in an interview that he "liked" Kim instead, it only fueled the narrative that the Elle shoot had established.
Even years later, the images are frequently brought up online to illustrate the double standard often present in how the media sexualizes young male celebrities compared to their female counterparts.
Do you think the media has truly learned to avoid these types of controversial age-gap themes in photoshoots, or could something similar happen today? Share your thoughts on how celebrity culture has changed in the comments below!
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