Kim Kardashian And Kendall Jenner Didn't Give Permission To Appear In Artist's Domestic Violence Campaign

Kim Kardashian Didn't Give Permission To Appear In Domestic Violence Campaign

Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner have been featured in an artist's campaign to raise awareness of violence against women - without their permission.

The shocking photographs, published by Italian artist Alexsandro Palombo, show A-list celebrities looking battered and bruised with the caption: "Life can be a fairytale if you break the silence."

According to TMZ, Kardashian and Jenner have not given permission for their photographs to be photoshopped and used in the campaign.

"We're told Kim and Kendall happen to back the cause. But [they] also think it's important that people have the right to choose to be involved," said TMZ.

"Domestic violence is a social cancer that knows no boundaries nor social status, it can affect anyone, whether you're an ordinary person or a celebrity.

"To defeat him you need to use the antidote of culture by educating and raising awareness on respect and equality. Each of us has do their part to help increase awareness and to change things by any means."

Palombo is not the only artist to doctor images of Kardashian. Last month, Syrian artist and sociopolitical activist Saint Hoax shared an image of Kim Kardashian with a bruised face and swollen lip in a bid to raise awareness of violence against women.

At the time, HuffPost UK Lifestyle contacted Kim Kardashian's publicist who said the image was "doctored" and declined to comment further.

The image accompanied an open letter from Saint Hoax, who said that there's a comparison to be made in how much coverage Kim Kardashian gets compared to millions of women who suffer at the hands of domestic violence.

An image of Kim Kardashian which was edited by artist Saint Hoax

"On average, three women are murdered by an intimate partner each day in the U.S. Now ask yourself when was the last time you read about these three women? Even if the media covered these murders, you rarely find them on front pages," Saint Hoax wrote in the open letter.

"Most probably you wouldn’t know that these stories were published unless you search for them using specific keywords. These three women rarely make headlines.

"Meanwhile, the three Kardashians and three Jenners receive hourly coverage by the media. Without even subscribing to any of their news, you probably read at least three Kardashian/Jenner related headlines everyday."

While the cause is an admirable one, Polly Neate, chief executive of Women's Aid, questioned the ethical nature of using these photographs to raise awareness of violence against women, particularly as they can be "damaging" for the celebrities who are unwillingly involved.

"We urge campaigners to be responsible and seek permission of their subjects before using them to raise awareness of domestic abuse. If family or friends saw this and thought it was true, it could be very damaging," she told HuffPost UK Lifestyle.

Caitlin Roper, campaigner for women's rights group Collective Shout, said that Saint Hoax's work has raised a "fair point" but says she isn't "entirely comfortable" with the way he's gone about it.

"As a society we are much more engaged with mindless celebrity culture than issues that genuinely warrant our attention and require urgent action - such as the epidemic of male violence against women, where real women are being abused and murdered by primarily male partners," she said.

"It’s certainly an effective way to attract attention, though I’m not entirely comfortable with it.

"Did Kim Kardashian give consent for her image to be used, to be digitally manipulated for this purpose? Is the use of clickbait an appropriate tool for sparking conversation?"

In his open letter, the artist said he didn't intend to "attack or demean" the Kardashian/Jenner family.

"The purpose behind this is to highlight the fact that we live in a world where we can know how many pairs of Louboutins Kim owns (it took me less than two seconds to find this information online), yet there’s still shame and misconceptions associated with domestic violence," he explained.

After Hoax shared the image, he told HuffPost UK Lifestyle that raising awareness of violence against women has always been important to him.

"I was raised in the Middle East where women have always struggled to gain their rights," he said.

"I always make it a point to share information regarding domestic violence so people would learn that this is not only a 'women's issue'. This is a global issue that involves everyone."

HuffPost UK Lifestyle has reached out to Kardashian's publicist regarding the latest images from Alexsandro Palombo. We are currently waiting to hear back.

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