Kim Kardashian recently starred in a commercial for Beyond Meat, claiming that this plant protein tastes “so good,” but fans quickly noticed something peculiar about the ad: she never takes a bite of the food. Now everyone is roasting her in the comments—it’s too funny!
The video, which the brand posted on their Instagram this past Tuesday, features the Kardashians star “sampling” an assortment of Beyond Meat products. “I believe so much in the mission of Beyond Meat that I’ve stepped in to help with my greatest asset: My taste,” Kim says. Except… it’s clear to viewers that she’s not actually tasting anything. Take a look for yourself:
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Throughout the advertisement, the mother of four closes her eyes and “savors” a veggie burger, sticks her fork into a faux meatball, squeezes a lime wedge over crumbled plant protein in a taco (which she poses for a selfie with), dips chicken-like nuggets into honey, and gives a chef a fist-bump of approval after being served vegan sausage. But viewers were quick to point out that, even as the reality star appears to be chewing something, we never actually see her bite into anything.
“She didn’t even take a bite of the burger,” someone pointed out. This is true; there is clearly no bite taken out of the burger Kim is pretending to chew in one shot.
“Fake eating… I see you,” one comment said.
“This seems so fake!” someone else complained.
“You didn’t show her actually consuming the product… Did she actually eat it?” another questioned.
All the controversy over whether or not the SKIMS founder is actually eating the food seems to have distracted everyone from the whole point of the ad, which aims to promote plant-based protein as an environmentally friendly alternative to meat. “This plant-based meat is not only amazingly delicious, but it’s also better for you and better for the planet,” Kim says. “It’s a simple change that makes a really big difference.”
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The 41-year-old went on to call herself Beyond Meat’s “Chief Taste Consultant,” noting that now that she’s on board, “there’s never been a better time to go ‘Beyond.'”
But this controversial celebrity’s seal of approval seemed to have the opposite of its desired effect on some viewers. People even went as far to say that this advertisement made them not want to try Beyond Meat at all: “I ain’t buying it cause you ain’t really eating it.” Touché!
Of course, some people just hate Kim for being Kim. “You guys couldn’t get a better celebrity?” someone wrote. “Damn! You start using a Kardashian in your advertising is when I leave the room,” another echoed. There were many comments that begged the question: “Why her?” Haters gonna hate!
There were plenty of other people showing their support and lending a voice of reason, though, noting that the mega-star’s influence can make some serious waves. “This is actually a way to reach a lot of new people since she has such a huge influence. I get it,” one person commented.
Someone else made a plea for vegans to think critically about the advertisement and its power: “To my beautiful vegan fam, especially my fellow ethical vegans, please think critical and understand the impact this collaboration will have in terms of the massive influence. To have @kimkardashian encouraging her 300 million plus followers to eat plant-based is simply a win for animals and the environment no matter how you view it,” they wrote. “None of us and I do mean none of us have that type of influence and access to that many people globally on none of our social media platforms like she does. Even if you have all of us combined our following, we still don’t have that type of reach she does. So, this is a W in many capacities.” You tell ’em!
