Karlie Kloss clarifies Kim Kardashian 'lovely' comments: 'I will always have Taylor Swift's back'
'I will never be the girl that you can use to pit women against each other'
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Your support makes all the difference.Taylor Swift’s squad is nothing if not divisive: at once considered by some to be a celebration of successful women who pull together, by others as an example of in-group out-group mentality.
Core member Karlie Kloss left many wondering whether she had fallen into the latter category after a soundbite from her Sunday Times interview came under scrutiny on Tuesday.
Swift has been, as Twitter eloquently summarised it, “dragged” by Kim Kardashian and ex-partner Calvin Harris, who at one point cemented their “dragging” by appearing in a picture together. Long-term squad member Selena Gomez was quick to jump to Swift’s defence on Twitter - only to be accused of hypocrisy - but Kloss remained quiet. The saga preceded Kloss’ interview with the Times and her silence ensured her opinion of Kardashian was an inevitable question, which arrived in the form of: “Is Kim a good person?”
The supermodel, entrepreneur and close friend of the embattled singer responded with a stammering endorsement of Kardashian as “lovely”:
“Ha... you know... I honestly... I... I…’ Kloss says, smiling as she stutters. Eventually she comes up with, ‘I think she’s been a lovely person to me in the past,’ then drops into a more matter-of-fact tone. ‘Look, I really don’t know her that well.’
Breathless headlines such as “Karlie Kloss couldn’t help it: Taylor Swift’s Squad Actually Contains a Lot of Kim Kardashian Fans”, soon followed.
Kloss quickly stepped in to clarify exactly where she stands in this protracted row, before warning that she will not be used by tabloids keen to position women in opposition with each other.
The 24-year-old’s response echoes a number of women speaking out about rivalry narratives constructed by tabloids between famous women.
Kloss is right to be cautious about joining high-profile spats like the one which quickly flared up between Justin Bieber and Gomez this week. A few Instagram comments exchanged between two exes became the biggest entertainment news story for two days, culminating in Bieber deactivating his account.
The internet was equally unimpressed with Gomez's angry reaction to the Kardashian-Swift feud which saw her asking why those with a platform do not use their voice for “something that f**king matters”. Her question was soon turned on its head by dozens asking why she has not spoken up after the deaths of black men killed by police officers in the US or thrown her weight behind the Black Lives Matter movement.
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