Mia Khalifa has launched a fierce attack on Kim Kardashian's decision to expand her shapewear brand SKIMS into Israel, saying the move helps normalise a state accused of committing atrocities in Gaza and shows how celebrity brands prioritise profit over human life.
The former adult film star was reacting to reports that SKIMS plans to open up to 15 stores across Israel by the end of 2026, partnering with the Israeli fashion conglomerate Irani Corp, with sales beginning on 10 November in a move that deepens corporate complicity in Israel's war economy.
"Wearing sk*ms is such a litmus test bc you either gotta be bird brained or not care, but I guess those are the same thing," Khalifa said in a now-viral post on X.
The announcement comes as Israel's military campaign in Gaza continues to face intense international condemnation.
Human rights groups have described the offensive as genocidal, documenting widespread destruction and mass civilian casualties.
According to figures from local authorities and aid organisations, more than 68,800 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, with hundreds of thousands still displaced in makeshift shelters unfit for the coming winter.
For activists, the SKIMS expansion is not a neutral business decision. They argue it contributes to a broader pattern of normalisation that whitewashes occupation and mass suffering, allowing global brands to profit while Palestinians endure collective punishment.
Kardashian has long expressed public support for Israel, which she visited in 2015 with her then-husband Kanye West and their daughter for a trip that included a baptism in occupied Jerusalem.
Following the October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israeli military positions near Gaza, Kardashian posted a message to her "Jewish friends and family", expressing heartbreak for the "families being terrorised and killed in front of the whole world".
Her statement drew backlash from pro-Palestinian advocates who accused her of ignoring Israel's decades-long occupation and the disproportionate killing of civilians in Gaza.
International legal bodies, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and multiple UN inquiries, have described Israel's war on Gaza as posing a "plausible risk of genocide".