Remember when Kim Kardashian broke the Internet (again!) last week with those nude selfies? Well, artist and social media activist, Lush Sux, decided that we should all remember it – for a very, very long time – so he painted a giant mural of the image in Melbourne, Australia.
The 30-foot mural wasn’t even up for a solid week before vandals attacked it, smearing it with paint while slut-shaming the celebrity. Lush Sux told BuzzFeed that the backlash “was a given, considering the subject matter,” but he’s “bummed that people didn’t get more of a chance to interact with it.” Like this fan did.
One of his biggest concerns was that “someone felt the dire need to spray ‘SLUT’ across it.”
The patriarchy strikes again unfortunately, but Kim said it best in her blog post on International Women’s Day: “I am empowered by my body. I am empowered by my sexuality. I am empowered by feeling comfortable in my skin. I am empowered by showing the world my flaws and not being afraid of what anyone is going to say about me… I will not live my life dictated by the issues you have with my sexuality. You be you and let me be me.”
Kim’s come a long way since her sex tape days. In the 13 years that have passed (yep, it’s been 13 years!), she’s established herself as an ultra-successful entrepreneur and global pop culture icon. And if you still can’t deal with her nude selfies, consider the overwhelmingly positive response the Biebs got when he posted an uncensored photo of his buns on Instagram.
At least the artist (and Kim K.) would be happy to know that the vandalism has only inspired further rebellion against slut-shaming. Haters, stand down.