Come on, Karlie Kloss, call your in-laws fascists already
For over four years, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have been by Donald Trump’s side, whispering in his ear, undoubtedly helping to steer his presidency, a case of nepotism through and through. What else possibly qualified Kushner to be a senior advisor to the president? It certainly wasn't his shoddy record as a landlord.
Now, with less than two weeks remaining of Trump’s time in office — and a shocking rampage through the Capitol — upper-crusters are at last beginning to treat the Trump-Kushners like radioactive scum and their associates not much better.
One of these Kushner-adjacent famous folks is supermodel Karlie Kloss, who’s married to Jared’s brother Joshua Kushner. Kloss and her hubby are self-professed Democrats, but the Project Runway host has also spent the last four years keeping awfully quiet about her in-laws’ flirtation with fascism.
But during the attack on the Capitol, Kloss tweeted her condemnation of Trump: “Accepting the results of a legitimate democratic election is patriotic. Refusing to do so and inciting violence is anti-American.” Someone responded, imploring her to tell that to her brother- and sister-in-law. But Kloss simply shrugged, “I’ve tried.”
As imagined, people are describing her "meh" response as woefully inadequate. In the past, Kloss compared her situation to that of regular folks: "I'm sure I'm not the only person in this country who doesn't necessarily agree with their family on politics," she told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live in early 2020.
It’s true that Kloss could probably talk herself blue in the face trying to get Jared and Ivanka to change their megalomaniacal ways and not get anywhere. But she’s not a normal person — she’s an influential, wealthy celebrity with a massive platform. At minimum, Kloss could openly disavow the Trump-Kushners and everything they stand for. But ignoring their crimes while maintaining tepid ties with her in-laws carries a certain “Not even to dinner with the Kushners?” energy.
But here’s the thing: Kloss probably stayed quiet in the interest of her brand — a fact Tavi Gevinson hammered home in her pointed criticism of the supermodel. “What @karliekloss means to say is: ‘I have no real interest in using my political power so much as retaining a watery “feminist” liberal brand while protecting my ties to the Trumps and Kushners and vaguely claiming I’ve “tried” to change their minds,’” Gevinson wrote on social media.
The Rookie founder continued lambasting Kloss for using her “Resistance Barbie brand” to distract people from “the fact that I maintain a relationship with my brother-in-law who befriended MBS, or my sister-in-law who called the armed mob last night ‘patriots’ in a since-deleted tweet.”
It’s not the first time Gevinson called out Kloss for her hypocrisy, either. Last year, when the model posted an Instagram imploring fans to have tough conversations about racism with their families, Tavi implored Karlie to “give it a rest” in the comments.
One thing's absolutely certain: the time for staying quiet in the face of the Trump administration's seditious acts has long passed. Even if Kloss were to suddenly step up to the plate, it would be too little, and entirely too late.
