Kim Kardashian West unleashed her mama bear side this week after a photo of an oil painting done by her daughter, seven-year-old North West, sparked skepticism among fans.
The painting in question was a colorful landscape portrait in the style of the late and beloved Bob Ross.
Kim captioned the post “My little artist North.” And, sure enough, North’s name was written in the corner with a little smiley face.
But this seemingly innocent and — especially by Kardashian standards — wholesome post quickly became fodder for a heated debate.
Fans weren’t buying Kim’s claim that a seven-year-old, even one with two mega-famous parents, was capable of creating such an impressive painting and took to Twitter to express their doubts.
Kim returned to Instagram to give her rebuttal, stating that she couldn’t understand why “grown adults” would accuse any child of “not being awesome.”
Accusations were made on both sides and, naturally, the internet had plenty to say about it.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the details.
The charges laid out against Kim and her daughter North
Fans claimed the seven-year-old and her mother, who has over two hundred million Instagram followers and a net worth of roughly $900 million, lied about the painting (for attention, maybe?).
Some people felt very passionate about it.
And others thought that, whether North made the painting or not, it was bad parenting for Kim to post the photo at all, and then respond to the surrounding drama.
And at least one twitter user was glad the media was focusing on what’s important:
The media was indeed paying attention. Vice went so far as to consult with art experts, and one writer doubts that North could have so much talent without “momager” (grandmager?) Kris Jenner turning her art into a business scheme.
The plethora of media attention rubbed Kim the wrong way, and is partly responsible for her big reaction.
Kim Kardashian’s response to her daughter’s skeptics
Kim Kardashian denied all accusations that the painting isn’t a genuine North West, clapping back at doubters on her Instagram story with an all caps warning for people not to “play with” her when it comes to her children.
She went on to explain that North and her best friend are in an oil painting class together, “where their talents and creativity are being encouraged and nurtured,” and that Kim was seeing “op-ed pieces in the media and social media from grown adults breaking down whether [her] child actually painted this!”
Other mama bears came out of the woods to support Kim’s statement.
North’s art teacher’s daughter defends her
This video surfaced of a woman on TikTok who claims to be the daughter of North’s art teacher.
Oh, and remember the art experts Vice consulted? They totally think North made the painting. Phew!
The final season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians premieres on Thursday, March 18 at 8/7c on E!