Celebrity

Khloé Kardashian Reveals How Instagram Comments On Her Photos Give Her Anxiety

“Even when I’ve barely done retouching, I’m so afraid to post it,” she said on The Kardashians.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: Khloe Kardashian attends a basketball game between the Los Ang...
Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

As matriarch Kris Jenner says, the Kardashian family has a “thick, tough skin” when it comes to criticism, but one of her daughters does internalize the hatred she gets. On the second episode of Hulu’s The Kardashians, Khloé Kardashian opened up about the anxiety she receives from social media comments on everything from her looks to her life choices, especially involving her ex-boyfriend Tristan Thompson. This time, her anxiety was triggered by an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, with Khloé saying she was more worried about the aftermath on social media than the interview itself.

“It’s so easy for people to say, ‘If you don’t know them, don’t pay attention,’” she told her best friend Malika Haqq on the way to Corden. “Trust me, I try not to, but when you’re walking down the street and even paparazzi is heckling at you the same things you’re trying to avoid, it’s so deteriorating on your self-esteem, your confidence, the way that you view yourself. ... Even when I’ve barely done retouching, I’m so afraid to post it because people are going to say I did this.”

In a confessional, Khloé got candid about how her relationship with social media has turned toxic thanks to Instagram comments. “Social media used to be fun and silly,” she said. “There’s definitely always trolls, but now, everything is so critical — the way I look, my situation with Tristan. Is my hair done the right way? What is she doing with that laugh? Oh my gosh, she said this. I think it’s gotten to the point that it’s literally safer to stay at home.”

Khloe Kardashian and Malika Haqq in Episode 2 of The Kardashians.Hulu/The Kardashians

However, this doesn’t sit well with the people around her. In response, Malika offered some advice for Khloé: “You ever think to just tell a couple people to f*ck off and it might actually make you feel better?” And when she got to Corden’s studio, she was surprised to find that the late night host was in complete agreement.

“Oh f*cking hacks, why are you even looking at it?” Corden asked Khloé after her mom informed him about her anxiety. “All you have to remember is none of these things are about you. What somebody thinks of you is none of your business. ... These words only exist if I give them any power.” Before they went on stage for the interview, Corden put it the most succinctly: “Look, you’re drinking champagne at 4 p.m. on a Monday, and you’re at work. You’ve won.”

This isn’t the first time that Khloé has voiced her concerns about online trolls, telling Cosmopolitan in November 2021 that social media “scares” her more than it used to. “I’ve learned that you can’t just post anything because people will comment and say the craziest things,” she said. “I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’”