Kylie Jenner clarifies why she asked fans to help pay a makeup artist’s medical bills

Kylie Jenner continues to face backlash after asking her followers to pitch in to cover a celebrity makeup artist’s medical expenses, prompting her to address what she’s described as a “false narrative” on social media.

“I don’t know how all this got so twisted,” Jenner wrote Monday in her Instagram stories. “Anyone that knows me knows that I do things from the heart.”

According to the fundraiser’s organizer, makeup artist Samuel Rauda “underwent major surgery” March 14 after a serious accident. Over the weekend, Jenner posted a photo of him on her stories, along with the message, “may God watch over you and protect you @makeupbysamuel everyone take a moment to say a prayer for sam who got into an accident this past weekend. and swipe up to visit his families [sic] go fund me.”

But the gesture from the reality star-turned-beauty mogul rubbed some fans the wrong way. Jenner, they noticed, donated $5,000 to the cause, a paltry sum for a celebrity with a net worth estimated by Forbes at north of $900 million. Others noted that beauty influencer Huda Kattan contributed twice as much.

On social media, much of the criticism came in the form of memes, many of which juxtaposed Jenner’s $5,000 contribution with aspects of her lavish lifestyle.

Critics also continued to leave comments on her Instagram account. On Sunday, Jenner posted a photo of her daughter, Stormi, captioned, “out of this world.” A now-deleted comment read: “You know what would be out of this world? You helping your makeup artist.”

In her Instagram stories, Jenner had more to say about the backlash.

“i feel it’s important for me to clear up this false narrative that i’ve asked fans for money and am not paying for my makeup artist’s medical bills,” she wrote. “Sam isn’t my makeup artist and unfortunately we don’t have a personal relationship anymore but i have worked with him a few years ago and think he’s the sweetest.

“I saw my current makeup artist and friend Ariel post about Sam’s accident and his family’s gofundme and i called Ariel immediately to see what happened to Sam. After learning in more detail about the accident it compelled me to visit his gofundme which was set at 10k. They had already raised 6k so i put in 5k to reach their original goal and thought i’d post on my stories to gain more awareness if anyone also felt compelled to share or donate.”

The GoFundMe campaign in question, which now has a goal of $120,000, has raised more than $100,000 for Rauda as of Tuesday. According to organizer Johanna Portillo, Rauda “has a long road to recovery ahead of him.”

“Your donations will help cover the cost of his medical expenses and whats to come,” Portillo wrote.

Beyond the controversy over Jenner’s contribution, the overall efficacy of crowdfunding for medical expenses has been questioned.

Jeremy Snyder, an associate professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University in Canada, has noted: “Medical resources for crowdfunding campaigns are largely distributed according to personal appeal, sensationalism, one’s social position, or luck.”