Kim Kardashian's latest business venture has been met with a mixed reaction on social media following her announcement on Monday that her Skims apparel brand is partnering with the NBA.
Kardashian, 43, took to Instagram to announce that her company had inked a deal with the men's and the women's basketball leagues, days after her company launched its first-ever underwear line for men.
The TV personality shared a gallery of photos making her announcement, including images of her posing in the shadow of New York City's Brooklyn Bridge as she clutched a basketball.
"Introducing the SKIMS and NBA partnership," she captioned the photos. "@SKIMS is now the Official Underwear Partner of the @NBA, @WNBA and @Usabasketball."
In a statement shared with Newsweek, Kardashian said of the deal: "We're thrilled to partner with the WNBA and to excite fans and female athletes through WNBA marquee events, brand activations, media, and campaigns. We look forward to working together in amplifying our joint values of women empowerment and individual confidence."
This is not Kardashian's first foray into dressing athletes. In 2021, Skims landed a deal with Team USA to supply undergarments and loungewear for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
While Kardashian's latest Instagram announcement was met with largely positive comments, the tone was notably less upbeat on X, formerly Twitter, where a number of social media users expressed their objections to the partnership.
"We gotta boycott the NBA now," wrote one detractor, while another asked: "Who allowed this?"
Referencing Kardashian and her sisters' past relationships with athletes, another commented: "This is hilarious knowing that they [used] to say there's a Kardashian curse for athletes. But now they're wearing her underwear."
Questioning the point of the deal, one X user asked: "Why even there is an underwear partner?"
"The good news for the players is they can just wear something else and no one will notice," another quipped.
Amid the flood of derisory comments were several posts praising Kardashian for adding to her ever-growing fortune with the deal.
"Say what you want about Kim Kardashian... But she is really about her business like," one commented.
"If the NBA players started playing in just their jerseys and SKIMS underwear, I actually might watch a game or two," said another.
Referencing Kardashian's controversial comments about work ethic last year, another wrote: "Y'all shouldn't have gotten upset when she said get your a** up and work 'cause she certainly is."
Another X user said that while they're no longer a fan of Kardashian, they "gotta give it to her when it comes to marketing, 'cause girl this is something."
Meanwhile, Alyssa Milano was among the first celebrities to congratulate Kardashian after her announcement, writing on Instagram: "This is awesome. Congrats."
Mother-of-four Kardashian has become a social media powerhouse and formidable entrepreneur since initially rising to fame as a reality TV star more than a decade and a half ago.
She launched Skims as a shapewear brand in 2019, before eventually expanding it to include loungewear, underwear, and swimwear. Skims Men's, which debuted on October 26, includes underwear, T-shirts, and socks.
"We've never had a bigger request than to launch men's," Kardashian recently told GQ of the decision to launch Skims Men's. She added that there were male customers who "would hear their girlfriends or their wives or loved ones talking about Skims."
Those male customers came via Skims' Boyfriend Collection, a range of T-shirts and pajama pants that was launched in 2020.
The Boyfriend Collection, Kardashian said, "was going to be the start of our men's [line]. My brother [Rob] was trying it all on for me and being my fit model, and [he] thought that the material was a bit too thin and had a lot of notes."
After going back to the drawing board, Kardashian and Skims co-founder and CEO Jens Grede unveiled the new men's line. It already has a host of sports stars modeling in its inaugural campaign, including San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Nick Bosa, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Brazilian soccer player Neymar.
According to Grede, several athletes had already pitched themselves as models of Skims' men's line before it was even launched.
Explaining the athlete direction, Kardashian said it was inspired by "experiencing sports with my kids, having it be a part of our daily life with my daughter who loves basketball, my son [who] plays American football and soccer. Having someone from each sport, and me traveling the world to go to these soccer games with my son and all of his friends—getting some of their idols in the campaign is like a 'pinch me' moment."
Update 10/31/23, 11:35 a.m. ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from Kim Kardashian.
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