Khloe Kardashian Unedited Bikini Photo Controversy Explained

Scandal alert. Khloé Kardashian‘s team took down an unedited bikini photo that was accidentally posted online — and the controversy has certainly rocked social media.

It all started on Sunday, April 4, amid the Kardashian-Jenners’ family Easter celebrations. While the Keeping Up With the Kardashians stars were enjoying the holiday at matriarch Kris Jenner‘s Palm Springs home, the unedited image started making the rounds on the internet. The picture depicted the Good American founder rocking a tiny cheetah-print string bikini while makeup-free. She also wore her hair in a ponytail for the shot.

The Revenge Body host was not pleased by the leak. An insider told Life & Style that Khloé “went ballistic” when the snapshot went viral. “She hated it and demanded her team take it down,” the source noted on Tuesday, April 6, adding that the photo isn’t something “she would have posted without some serious altering.”

The reality star has come under fire many times for allegedly Photoshopping her photos over the years. “Making such a fuss about this one slipping through the cracks just shows how desperate she is to convey an image that really isn’t her,” the insider continued. “Fans love the real Khloé; the way she really looks. It’s very hypocritical to tell your fans to own their body types when you can’t do it yourself. It’s disappointing.”

Tracy Romulus, who serves as chief marketing officer for KKW Brands — and close pal to Kim Kardashian — released a statement about the situation to Page Six on Monday, April 5.

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“The color edited photo was taken of Khloé during a private family gathering and posted to social media without permission by mistake by an assistant,” rapper Kanye West‘s former publicist told the outlet. “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.”

It seems the photo has, in fact, been scrubbed from the internet. The person behind the Instagram account that allegedly posted the photo, @problematicfame, claims they cannot “legally” speak on the incident, but have removed the photo from their account. However, the candid snapshot allegedly originated on a secret Instagram account belonging to Kris’ mother, Mary Jo “MJ” Campbell.

Scroll through the gallery below to get a full breakdown of Khloé’s unedited bikini photo controversy.

How It’s Going

The mother of one was so upset by the leak, she quickly enlisted her team to help take it down. KKW Brands’ CMO and family friend Tracy issued a statement in which she noted the image was taken during a “private family gathering.” She also claimed that Khloe did not want the photo taken down because of how she looked, but that it was simply within her rights as the copyright holder to request its deletion.

Khloe’s Reaction

The E! personality “went ballistic” when the photo surfaced online, an insider exclusively told Life & Style — and her reaction “created the opposite effect that Khloé wanted. She put a spotlight on it — and now more people have seen that pic than probably would have if she had just left it alone.”

Bae’s By Her Side

However, boyfriend Tristan Thompson — with whom she shares daughter True Thompson — has her back. The NBA player “feels horrible” about the incident, a second insider exclusively told Life & Style. “Thankfully, Khloé has True to take her mind off things and Tristan to support her,” the source added.

Khloé Breaks Her Silence

The reality star took to Instagram to show her “unretouched and unfiltered” body while giving a statement about the drama.

“The photo that was posted this week is beautiful. But as someone who has struggled with body image her whole life, when someone takes a photo of you that isn’t flattering in bad lighting or doesn’t capture your body the way it is after working so hard to get it to this point — and then shares it to the world — you should have every right to ask for it to not be shared — regardless of who you are,” part of her statement read.

“I’m, of course, not asking for sympathy, but I am asking to be acknowledged for being human,” she continued. “I am not perfect but I promise you that I try every day to live my life as honestly as possible and with empathy and kindness. It doesn’t mean that I have not made mistakes. But I am not going to lie. It’s almost unbearable trying to live up to the impossible standards that the public have all set for me.”

Chrissy Speaks Out

Chrissy Teigen opened up about how Khloé’s scandal affected her on April 20. “I went, like, a million different ways [with] it,” she revealed to Andy Cohen while appearing on Watch What Happens Live. “I actually ended up talking about it in therapy, oddly enough, because of my own body insecurity issues and what celebrities have done to people in distorting their image of what a real human body looks like.”