Kim Kardashian Gets Political, Takes Out Full Page NY Times Ad To Attack Armenian Genocide Denial
Kim Kardashian is in the papers today for different reasons. The reality star has taken out a dramatic full-page ad in the New York Times attacking those who deny the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire in 1915.
It comes in response to a controversial full-page ad published by the Wall Street journal in April this year which downplayed the atrocities and Turkey’s involvement, calling for Americans to “stop the allegations”.
The Kardashian family are of Armenian descent and the issue is something that Kim has been outspoken about in the past.
In the article, Kardashian wrote,
My family and I are no strangers to BS in the press. We’ve learned to brush it off. Lies make good headlines, good headlines make great covers, great covers sell magazines. But when I heard about this full-page ad that ran in the Wall Street Journal denying the Armenian genocide, I couldn’t just brush it off.
In 1915, 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were massacred by the former Turkish government to exterminate the entire population.
However, Turkey still refuses to acknowledge the actions of their government as a genocide, that is “the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular nation or ethnic group”. On the back of that, some Turkish groups are very active in lobbying to have the reputation and perception of Turkey restored, thus leading to this ad being published in the WSJ in April this year:
Full-page ad in today's @WSJ denying the Armenian genocide pic.twitter.com/LjBGjCo80l
— Gary Bass (@Gary__Bass) April 20, 2016
Kardashian’s ad went further to say:
“Many historians believe that if Turkey had been held responsible for the Armenian genocide, and reprimanded for what they did, the Holocaust may not have happened.
In 1939, a week before the Nazi invasion of Poland, Hitler said, ‘Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?’ We do. We must.
We must talk about it until it is recognized by our government because when we deny our past, we endanger our future.”
Here’s a snap of Kimmy K’s ad and further commentary on how Americans are reactive via CBS news below.
Kim Kardashian citing a Sam Biddle Gawker post to go at the Journal in a full-page ad in the Times. 2016! pic.twitter.com/2STvikMe1Q
— Matt Lynch (@mbradylynch) September 17, 2016
CBS news discuss Kim Kardashian’s ad in the New York Times attacking Armenian Genocide Denial: