Photography via Instagram/@kimkardashian

Everything That Upset the Internet This Week

Date April 14, 2019

What is the web-o-sphere angry about this week? A burger ad employing cultural caricatures, a reality star pursuing a law degree and a president using 9/11 footage to attack a freshman congresswoman. Here’s everything you need to know:

A Burger King Campaign Features Giant Chopsticks

THE STORY: In a recent Burger King New Zealand advertisement, customers are shown attempting to eat the fast-food restaurant’s new Vietnamese burger using oversized chopsticks. “Take your taste buds all the way to Ho Chi Minh City with our Vietnamese Sweet Chili Tendercrisp, part of our Tastes of the World range,” read the original caption accompanying the post on Instagram.

THE REACTION:

LOL chopsticks amirite??????

Who the hell came up with this? There are a lot of Asian people in NZ, though they probably aren’t getting their Vietnamese food from Burger King ? https://t.co/XSGYX7IVBR

— Catherine Shu (@CatherineShu) April 5, 2019

You try to get money from Vietnamese people, and this is what you did? Using chopsticks is a part of our culture, and we are proud of that. But we DO NOT use them to eat the fucking burgers. Burger King is humiliating our country and our culture. #BurgerKingGetoutofVietnam pic.twitter.com/6DJ6GVD9ob

— Y8n l8ks at me (@toppwoo) April 9, 2019

RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE RAGE: Apparently, not everyone is reading fashion news over in New Zealand. If they did, the creators of this campaign would have drawn the parallels between their mega-chopstick burger ad and the controversial Dolce & Gabanna promo video from earlier this year, which saw a Chinese woman feebly attempting to eat Italian food with chopsticks. The mass backlash caused Dolce & Gabbana to cancel their Shanghai fashion show and prompted social media users from around the world to boycott the brand. Whether you’re pushing fashion or fast-food, using cultural caricatures to make light of Orientalism—the stereotyped representation of Asia that embodies a colonial-attitude—is not a clever campaign strategy.

Burger King has since asked the New Zealand franchisee to remove the video, saying in a statement: “The ad in question is insensitive and does not reflect our brand values regarding diversity and inclusion.”

Kim Kardashian is Studying to be a Lawyer

THE STORY: In a new Vogue cover story, Kim Kardashian West revealed that she is pursuing a career in law. She began a four-year apprenticeship with a law firm in San Francisco last summer and hopes to take the bar exam in 2022.

THE REACTION:

Apparently, Kim Kardashian doesn't need a college degree or law school to take the bar exam in California. If you're privileged and complete an apprenticeship with a lawyer or a law firm, you can do whatever you want. Ain't that a blimp.

— FERRARI SHEPPARD (@stopbeingfamous) April 11, 2019

I find it quite discouraging as a student that someone like Kim Kardashian can wake up and decide they wanna take the bar exam, while you have students studying for it now that are required to go through undergrad and law school just to get a seat.

— A. ❣️ (@AT_Tunechi) April 10, 2019

Oh man, you can do an apprenticeship now without going to law school? Why didn't anyone tell me?

Oh, this is Kim Kardashian? Never mind. I'm sure she'll totally be doing menial grunt work like most apprentices. Totally. https://t.co/LaALrxP2qx

— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) April 10, 2019

RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE RAGE: California is one of four states in America that allows you to pass the bar by “reading the law” rather than attending law school. This is the path Kardashian West is pursuing: she’s studying 18 hours a week with two legal mentors to help prepare. If she puts in the work and passes the exam, she deserves the professional title as much as any other American. She’s exercising her right to pursue her passions and seek further education, and we shouldn’t judge her for that. Kardashian West responded to the criticism in a lengthy post on Instagram:

“I’ve seen some comments from people who are saying it’s my privilege or my money that got me here, but that’s not the case. One person actually said I should “stay in my lane.” I want people to understand that there is nothing that should limit your pursuit of your dreams, and the accomplishment of new goal,” she wrote. “For anyone assuming this is the easy way out, it’s not.”

President Trump Posts Video Attacking Rep. Ilhan Omar

THE STORY: On Friday, President Donald Trump tweeted a video that spliced together past comments made by Rep. Ilhan Omar about 9/11 with footage of the twin towers burning. “WE WILL NEVER FORGET!” Trump tweeted with the video, which showed Omar referring to the terrorist attack as “some people did something” at the Council on American-Islamic Relations in California.

THE REACTION:

The President’s posting of an edited video of my colleague @Ilhan is beyond disgusting. His, and the New York Posts, use of out of context quotes to further divide our nation goes past uncivilized to dangerous.

— Albio Sires (@RepSires) April 13, 2019

Unconscionable that President Trump would question the patriotism and endanger the safety of my colleague, @Ilhan, just to score cheap political points. If that’s the game he wants to play, then all Americans stand to lose. #IStandWithIlhan

— André Carson (@RepAndreCarson) April 13, 2019

Shocked and disgusted that the President would use the tragic events of 9/11 as a political tool to attack any American, let alone a sitting Member of Congress.
⁰His Islamophobic attacks on @Ilhan are dangerous and reckless and they must be called out by members of both parties.

— Kathleen Rice (@RepKathleenRice) April 13, 2019

RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE RAGE: It’s okay to disagree with Ilhan Omar’s comments. That’s what democracy is. Using her image and uncontextualized quotes as a political tool to entice hatred towards American Muslims is reckless, immoral and frankly, frightening.