Kendall Jenner defends viral cucumber cutting moment: ‘I did it tastefully’

Kendall Jenner has spoken out about one of her most infamous moments: Cutting a cucumber.

The 27-year-old reality star defended her viral chopping skills during a new interview with WSJ Magazine while appearing on the cover of the publication’s Summer Digital issue.

During an episode of The Kardashians in May 2022, Jenner shocked fans when she attempted to cut the vegetable by holding her hands in a criss-cross motion, with one hand on the end of a cucumber and the other holding a knife. Shortly after the episode aired, fans were quick to express their confusion over the model’s unconventional way of chopping the cucumber.

However, according to Jenner, there weren’t any issues with the way she chopped the vegetable, since she was actually successful in slicing it during The Kardashians episode.

“Let me just say I successfully cut ‘The Cucumber,’” she told WSJ. “So if anyone says I cannot cut cucumber, I physically cut the cucumber and I did it tastefully. I didn’t hurt anybody. So I can cut cucumbers.”

Kendall, who poked fun at the viral incident when she dressed up as a cucumber for Halloween last year, also noted that she cooks quite frequently at home for her friends, and that she’s gotten a range of recipes from her parents, including one for a rice pilaf with herbed chicken and vegetables.

In the infamous Kardashians scene, Jenner was visiting her mother Kris Jenner’s house when she attempted to make herself a cucumber snack. “I’m making it myself,” she said. “Just gotta chop up some cucumber. It’s pretty easy.”

The awkward angle of her cucumber cutting prompted her mother to ask their chef for help, but Jenner declined the offer on the basis that she could cut the vegetable herself. “I’m not a good cutter, so don’t zoom in on me,” she told the cameras. “I’m not professional whatsoever.”

When the cucumber cutting moment went viral in May 2022, some fans called it “the most tragic thing [they] ever witnessed”. Jenner also contributed to the bit, as she reposted one of the tweets and responded: “Tragic!”

Weeks later, Jenner’s siblings also mocked her online, with younger sister Kylie Jenner calling her “cucumber girl” in the caption of a TikTok video. During an episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat, Khloe Kardashian also revealed how Jenner felt about going viral.

“Oh, my God, she’s, like, not happy about that,” she said. “I feel so bad.”

Kardashian continued: “I’m like: ‘Kendall, god is fair. You’re the most beautiful human being in the world. You have wild-looking toes, god bless. And you can’t cut a f***ing cucumber.’”

The Good American founder added that she would gladly help Jenner improve her culinary skills, saying: “Please, come over and stay with me for one week. She’ll really cry herself a river, oh my god. But I’m going to teach her how to cut a cucumber.”

Jenner poked fun at the viral incident again when she posted a picture of a colourful chopping board with a large knife and cucumber, ready to be chopped, on Instagram. In the caption, she wrote: “Here we go again.”

In April of this year, Jenner appeared to bring the joke about her chopping skills back. During an episode of Hailey Bieber’s YouTube series, “What’s in my kitchen?” the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star sliced a lime in half and squeezed it into a cocktail shaker.

Surprised by her own cutting skills, Jenner paused and said: “That was…that was really nice. That was a fresh cut.” Bieber was also impressed by Jenner, as she told the camera: “It was a gorgeous chop.”