Kendall Jenner doesn't smoke. That's what she says, at least. Her latest Instagram suggests otherwise — she's lounging, naked, on a table ensconced in fauna. There's a cigarette dangling from her hand.
"I don't smoke," she writes in the caption, as if to preempt internet outrage. So, she held the cigarette for effect — it lends the photo a sexy, glammed-up femme fatale vibe, if you will.
Try as she might to prevent backlash, commenters are a little puzzled by the caption. Thing is, Kendall, if you don't smoke and don't want to endorse it, why would you pose with a cigarette?
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"I'm glad you say you don't smoke but I am curious if they force you to pose with a cigarette? If so, that's disappointing to be using your voice and influence such an unhealthy habit," one commenter notes gently.
Another adds, "Then why advertise with a cigarette?" (The same commenter added the eyeroll emoji for effect.)
Her detractors raise a good point. Actions speak louder than words — the image of Jenner, 21, smoking a cigarette is more powerful than her insistence that she doesn't smoke. That's how advertising works.
Her sister Kylie has come under heat before for sharing photos of herself smoking online. In May, fans were disappointed when Kendall shared a photo of her 19-year-old sibling seemingly handing off a lit cigarette.
Some fans are drawing a connection between this post and a similar Instagram on Bella Hadid's account. The model, who is among Jenner's peers, shared an image of herself smoking with the caption, "I quit."
One commenter muses on the post, "I think they're trying to say they quit. Kendall Jenner posted something similar."
Maybe this — celebrities publicly quitting smoking on Instagram — is the start of a trend.
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