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Kim Kardashian defends new Skims maternity shapewear range
Kim Kardashian has hit back after receiving backlash over her brand Skims’ new shapewear maternity range.
The 39-year-old took to her Instagram account on Saturday to make the announcement, writing: "What you’ve been waiting for: @SKIMS Maternity is coming soon! Introducing Maternity Solutionwear that offers the best in comfort and support for your changing body during and after pregnancy."
Kim, who faced criticism when she first launched Skims after she tried to call the brand Kimono, went on her Stories, where she uploaded a video showing off the collection.
“If only there were cute bras that were holding you up and snatching you and making you feel better about yourself while you can breastfeed, that would have been everything to me,” she said.
However, the announcement was immediately met with backlash by people online.
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“Why would you need shapewear while pregnant? I always fully embrace it,” one person wrote.
“This is stupid! You’re pregnant! You don’t need shareware! Anything to make a buck! Freakin sad,” another said.
Actress Jameela Jamil also took to her Instagram to address the new range, writing: “It would be so cool if pregnant people could just be allowed to be pregnant and get bigger and not be self conscious and enjoy the miracle taking place inside their body and not have to worry about feeling embarrassed/shamed that their body is changing for an amazing reason.”
She continued in the caption: “I wish we could just normalize just focusing on the inside of a pregnant body, not the outside. You don’t need your shape corrected or hidden. You don’t need an even more awkward obstacle between you and a piss. You just need to try and ride with this miracle and do your best to be as happy/comfortable as is possible within your circumstances. Pregnancy is hard enough, with enough worries already.”
Jameela said if she every has a baby she will be welcoming the stretch marks and new curves and wouldn’t put any pressure on herself to bounce back into shape.
Now, Kim has hit back, writing: “To anyone who has an issue with maternity solutionwear and if you haven’t been pregnant before you may not know the struggle of what it’s like carrying all of this weight the way I did along with millions of strong women. Skims maternity line is not to slim but to support.”
She went on to say that the belly part doesn’t actually have any slimming technology and is sheet and thin compared to the rest of the garment.
“It provides support to help with the uncomfortable weight being carried in your stomach which affects your lower back - and the compression on the leggings helps with pain relief caused by swelling.”
Kim said they decided to launch the range after receiving tens of thousands of requests for it from pregnant women and she’s “incredibly proud” that Skims is “providing a solution that will provide comfort and support during the times we all need it most, during pregnancy and after”.
Many agreed with the reality star, taking to Jameela Jamil’s Instagram to write: “Shapewear is actually a great support to a heavily bump, gives relief. Lots of love from someone who has actually had kids.”
“Women feel how they feel when they are pregnant. Shapewear is not a bad thing. Not buying shareware is not a bad thing. With how much you speak about letting people be themselves, let them decide whether they want this kind of product or not,” another person wrote.
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