Kim Kardashian is firing back following reports that her family got COVID-19 from her 40th birthday party, which she held on a private island last year.
The birthday getaway--which the reality star already faced backlash for in October after posting about it on social media--was chronicled on Thursday’s episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Following the trip, fans got to see Kim’s family battle with COVID-19, though she insisted the two occurrences were not linked.
Following even more backlash from fans drawing the connection, Kim took to Twitter to respond to a BuzzFeed News article that pieced together a timeline of events last fall, suggesting she may have contracted the coronavirus from the vacation.
“False. Nobody caught Covid from the trip,” she fired back in a tweet. “Saint was the first to have it in our family and he caught it from school from another student who tested positive first. I then developed symptoms and got it a few days after he coughed on me while caring for him.”
During this week’s KUWTK episode, which was filmed in November, Kim revealed that her son, 5-year-old Saint, contracted COVID and it later spread to her and her other kids, daughters North, 7, and Chicago, 3, and son Psalm, 2. Their father, Kim Kardashian’s then-husband Kanye West, had already contracted COVID earlier in 2020, which was also chronicled in an earlier episode of the reality show.
“All 4 of my babies and I had Covid!!!” Kim tweeted while watching the show on Thursday. “At least we all had it together and everyone is ok!”
As for the birthday trip, Kim and her entire family already faced backlash for that last year. On October 27, Kim shared a series of photos from her birthday trip to Instagram, in which friends and family celebrated on a private island amid the ongoing pandemic.
“40 and feeling so humbled and blessed. There is not a single day that I take for granted, especially during these times when we are all reminded of the things that truly matter,” she wrote at the time. “For my birthday this year, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it than with some of the people who have helped shaped me into the woman I am today.”
“Before COVID, I don’t think any of us truly appreciated what a simple luxury it was to be able to travel and be together with family and friends in a safe environment,” continued Kim, adding of safety precautions she said they took: “After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time.”
Fans were quick to criticize Kardashian both for endangering people and for being out of touch, throwing a trip in her followers faces knowing most can’t afford similar luxuries.