Reminder: Kim Kardashian Is More Than A Selfie Queen

This weekend, Kim Kardashian made waves with a bold, full-page ad in The New York Times. The spread, published by the Armenian Educational Foundation, features a letter Kardashian penned blasting a Wall Street Journal ad purchased by Turkic Platform, a group that denies the Armenian Genocide — the systematic murder of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1922. "For the Wall Street Journal to publish something like this is reckless, upsetting, and dangerous," Kardashian wrote. "It's one thing when a crappy tabloid profits from a made-up scandal, but for a trusted publication like WSJ to profit from genocide — it's shameful and unacceptable." She continued, "Advocating the denial of a genocide by the country responsible for it — that's not publishing a 'provocative viewpoint,' that's spreading lies." Kardashian called on people to speak up — and not allow money, power, or fear to bury the truth.

Some may have been surprised by Kardashian's words. "Kim Kardashian Gets Political" Harper's Bazaar tweeted, a sentiment echoed in many headlines this week. But the Times ad is not Kim Kardashian "getting political." Kim Kardashian is political — she has a long history as an outspoken critic of deniers of the Armenian Genocide. The letter published in the paper this weekend is actually adapted from a version that the reality star, whose family emigrated from Armenia to America in 1914, published on her blog in April, when the ad from Turkic Platform first appeared in the WSJ. Others don't take her political statements seriously, likely owing to the fact that Kardashian has a penchant for posting nude selfies. But, as one user pointed out on Twitter, "Why do people act so surprised every time @KimKardashian gets political. She can do both, be political and take pride in her sexuality."

Exactly. In fact, Kardashian marks the anniversary of the genocide every April with tributes that reach her millions of followers and fans on social media. And she has frequently penned essays about it on her blog over the years, where she doesn't just repeat facts, but explains why the issue is so important. "Some people might wonder why I’m talking about history on my blog," she wrote in 2011. "And, that’s what I’m trying to show…it’s not history. She's right: The fact is that the genocide is still a taboo in Turkey. According to CNN, as many as 91% of Turks do not believe it happened, while many nations, including the U.S., have failed to formally acknowledge the crime. "Until this crime is resolved truthfully and fairly, the Armenian people will live with the pain of what happened to their families and the fear of what might happen again to their homeland."

In April 2015 — the 100-year anniversary of the tragedy — she urged President Obama to recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide in an impassioned Time op-ed. "The whole point of remembering the genocide is to make sure it doesn’t happen again," she wrote. "A million-and-a-half people were brutally massacred, and a country can just pretend like it never happened? I don’t think that’s right." She wrote that as one of the few Armenians in Hollywood, she has to use her spotlight to bring attention to the issue. That month, she also took a well-documented trip to Armenia to celebrate the country and honor those who died. The point of all of this is to remind us: Let's give Kim the credit she deserves. She is a well-versed, consistent, and passionate advocate for Armenia and the Armenian people — who also happens to be a selfie queen.