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Kim Kardashian throws 40th birthday bash on private island, memes abound

The public lets the billionaire know exactly how her bragging went over during a global pandemic.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
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Gael Cooper
3 min read

Kim Kardashian West turned 40 last week, and she wasn't about to let a global pandemic get in the way of celebrating her milestone birthday as befits a billionaire. On Tuesday, Kardashian West decided to tell the world about the party on social media.

"After two 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," she tweeted, including photos of the decadent bash.

"We danced, rode bikes, swam near whales, kayaked, watched a movie on the beach and so much more," she wrote, adding a number of additional tweets packed with glamorous photos of the pricey event.

Kardashian West tried to get in front of the inevitable backlash by acknowledging her rarified position, writing, "I realize that for most people, this is something that is so far out of reach right now, so in moments like these, I am humbly reminded of how privileged my life is."

Yet somehow, that didn't make her not-so-humble brag go down any easier with others who haven't had such luxurious celebrations during the pandemic.

Not the time

Social media let her have it.

"Hi Poors!" one tweet began. "I know you're hurting right now and can't figure out how you're going to feed your family, but please enjoy these photos of my family's expensive vacation! I know I'm lucky to be so fabulously wealthy so I'll make mention of it to sound sympathetic (I'm really not tho)."

Said another, "Happy birthday. I hope someone got you an alphabet book as a gift, so you can learn to read the room."

Name that island

Kardashian West's very specific phrasing also inspired plenty of sharp digs, especially the use of "closest inner circle" and the idea of heading off to an unidentified private island. Maybe that island was the Island of Dr. Moreau? Fantasy Island? Gilligan's Island? A certain Isla Nublar from Jurassic Park? Jeffrey Epstein's island?

Bring your 'closest inner circle'

And just who, exactly, was in that "closest inner circle"? The large group included a few NBA players, including Devin Booker and Tristan Thompson, who are dating Kim's sisters Kendall and Khloe. But whoever the "circle" included, social media seized that phrase and tweeted about it.

It's her party

Some did feel that Kardashian West had the right to enjoy her birthday in whatever way her giant stacks of cash allowed.

"She's posted her birthday pics, and literally being vilified for it, yikes y'all," wrote one Twitter user.

Said another, "I say good for you. If I had the means, I'd probably do the same. People criticizing you gave you the fame and the means to live a privileged life. Screw 'em."

And like all memes, this one may have has as short a lifespan as Mike Pence's fly.

"After 2 hours of seeing this meme joylessly recreated, I surprised my closest inner circle by walking slowly into the ocean with stones in my pockets," wrote comedian Dan Sheehan.

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