Kourtney Kardashian’s attempt to show support for her brother-in-law Kanye West, 43, ahead of the U.S. presidential election was met with outrage. Kanye is now on the ballot in 12 states (however, he’s listed as the running mate alongside American Independent Party presidential nominee Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente in California). So, on Oct. 16, Kourtney took to her Instagram Story to post a selfie of herself rocking a “Vote Kanye” hat — and even provided a swipe-up link to buy the $40 hat from Kanye’s 2020 presidential campaign website.
Kanye has faced widespread criticism since announcing his presidential run in July, as many Americans fear that the famous rapper will be taking away votes from Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden (Kanye is running with the “Birthday Party”). So, fans were shaken by Kourtney’s public support for the Yeezy founder, given the Keeping Up with the Kardashian star’s immense platform. “Kourtney kardashian posting an insta story to her 102 MILLION followers encouraging them to vote for kanye is one of the most irresponsible, egregious and reckless uses of that family’s platform that i’ve ever seen,” one such critic tweeted.
Celebrities like RuPaul’s Drag Race star Kameron Michaels and Tyler Oakley even chimed in! “I had to check for myself [emoji] I don’t care if this is a mistake or a joke. Your platform is too big for you to do anything irresponsible like this. Fix it @kourtneykardash and do NOT write in or vote for @kanyewest,” Kameron wrote, while Tyler simply tweeted, “this is so embarrassing.”
Speaking of Poosh, another merch item from Kanye’s presidential campaign website — the “Kanye 2020 Vision Double Layered Hoodie” — was listed on a “Best Voter Merch” shopping guide on Kourtney’s website. The rest of the items on the list encouraged shoppers to vote, although the products had no clear political affiliation.