Kylie Jenner has addressed the recent backlash over her GoFundMe appeal.
The KUWTK star took to her Instagram Stories over the weekend to share a fundraising page that had been set up for Samuel Rauda, a makeup artist recovering from a car crash.
The 23-year-old wrote: “May God watch over you and protect you @makeupbysamuel everyone take a moment to say a prayer for Sam who got into an accident this past weekend. and swipe up to visit his families go fund me.”
The initial fundraising goal was $10k, and the beauty mogul donated $5k to the cause.
Many fans took to Twitter to criticize the star for encouraging her followers to donate, pointing out that she was crowned the world’s youngest self-made billionaire by Forbes in 2019.
So Kylie Jenner who apparently earns over $450k A DAY and is a billionaire shared the 60k gofundme of her friend who got in an accident for us poor people to donate to? Celebrities are a different breed.
— Tobi 🤍 (@tobeebayb) March 20, 2021
kylie jenner – a literal billionaire – asked strangers to donate to her friend’s gofundme instead of helping out herself https://t.co/bAQ0VB5iUT
— taylor ᱬ (@newredera) March 17, 2021
https://twitter.com/kaitlynsaloser/status/1373496718822678528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1373496718822678528%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fm104.ie%2Fnews%2Fbuzz%2Fkylie-jenner-faces-major-backlash-for-gofundme-request-from-fans%2F
Responding to the backlash, Kylie took to her Instagram Stories on Monday, writing: “I feel it’s important for me to clear up this false narrative that I’ve asked fans for money and am not paying for my makeup artist’s medical bills.”
“Sam isn’t my makeup artist and unfortunately we don’t have a personal relationship anymore but I have worked with him a few years ago and think he’s the sweetest. I saw my current makeup artist Ariel post about Sam’s accident and his family’s gofundme and I called Ariel immediately to see what happened to Sam.”
“After learning in more detail about the accident it compelled me to visit his gofundme which was set at 10k. They had already raised 6k and i put in 5k to reach their original goal and thought i’d post it on my stories to raise more awareness if anyone also felt compelled to share and donated.”
“I don’t know how all of this got so twisted but his family has reached out through Ariel and are very appreciative of all the donations, prayers, and love towards Sam.”
“Anyone that knows me knows that I do things from the heart and try to be helpful whenever I can,” the reality star added.
“Let’s all stay positive and keep Sam, his family, and anyone you know who is going through a difficult time in our prayers. I hope you have a beautiful day and let’s encourage each other to help.”
Sam’s GoFundMe page has now raised over $100k of the extended $120k goal.
