What to Know
Lots of people are angry about Kim Kardashian’s alleged elephant-leather Birkin bag. The bags are extremely rare, but Kim appeared to carry one on her new Hulu show, “All’s Fair.” After Vogue Hong Kong published photos of Kim with the controversial bag, some of those images went viral, leading to a lot of criticism on social media.
In response, model and actress Ireland Baldwin, who is the daughter of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, took to her Instagram Stories to call Kim out for her “disgusting and shameful” behavior.
Ireland suggested she couldn’t understand why people support the Kardashians.
Luxury expert Daniel Wesson (@birkinjunky on Instagram) shared some photos and All’s Fair clips of Kim with the elephant Birkin bag and included some information about the bag in the caption.
“Hermès no longer makes elephant leather bags (Thank god) but back in the 80s they had a custom order made by a client of Hermès who brought in a elephant hide from a hunting safari,” Daniel wrote in the caption. “They rarely pop up but when they do, they take the internet by storm.”
Ireland commented on the post with, “This is … Beyond.” She also shared it to her Stories and wrote, “This is so disgusting and shameful. I don’t understand how these people are supported the way they are.”
Many others agreed with her.
Like Ireland, they saw Kim’s bag as a reflection of her character. “Ick and of course she owns one,” someone else commented on the post. “This family has no class or shame.” Another person wrote, “She has no conscience 😔.” The fact that the bag is hard to come by made it even more horrifying to some animal lovers.
“That’s the disgusting part- this wasn’t a thing generally done by Hermes but rather a one off mini run made 45-50ish years ago,” one Redditor claimed. “She had to pursue collecting this particular piece as a very coveted prize and that’s just nauseating.”
Another person added, “By parading it she’s endorsing it. Making it more desirable and increasing the demand. She has a lot of social influence so increases its acceptability. All things poachers want and conservationists don’t. That’s the disgusting part.”
Others called Kim “a horrible human being” and slammed the entire Kardashian-Jenner family for being “so out of touch.”
PETA says Hermés never officially sold elephant bags.
According to the animal rights organization, Hermés made “a series of bags from the skin of an elephant who was allegedly shot and killed on a safari in the 1980s” but did not “officially” sell the bags.
The org also emphasized that elephants “are highly social animals who form close bonds with their families and mourn the death of their loved ones.”
