Is Kim Kardashian West Really Giving Away $500,000? Yes, But It’s Not Her Money

When celebrities first made headlines during the pandemic, it was for being recklessly self-absorbed and out of touch. They were flaunting their wealth and privilege by either migrating to their lavish second homes or taking questionable getaways. Even Kim Kardashian West made the late-quarantine mistake of telling the world she rented out a private island so that her close friends and family could "pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time."

Kardashian West just announced on Twitter that she will give away $500 to 1,000 people through a partnership with Cash App. In order to enter, all you have to do is share your "$cashtag" under the tweet along with the hashtag #KKWHoliday. The tweet went live just over two hours ago and it already has over 99,000 replies. And while a thousand payments of $500 each is a negligible amount for someone with private island money, a spokesperson confirmed that Cash App is the financial sponsor for this particular partnership.

The bar is so low that celebrities can seem to spend some pocket money and outdo what the government calls a "record-breaking" stimulus package. Had this partnership counted on an extra $10,000, 1,000 people would be able to say the government gave them just as much money as Kim Kardashian West. Plus, the Kardashian-stimmy is likelier to hit your bank account long before you get your check from Trump.

After months of waiting for Congress to respond to the needs of the people and put together a second stimulus package, many were shocked to learn that all we were getting was a lousy $600. Six-hundred dollars to make up for a botched pandemic response, no rent-relief, half-assed eviction moratoriums, and mass unemployment. The original $1,200 was hardly enough, but it at least covered rent for many. If you read through Kardashian West's thread, you'll find single mothers and homeless youth bearing the stories of their destitution for the chance to receive a couple hundred or even one thousand dollars.

This isn't the first time the rich and famous have partnered with Cash App to put cash in people's virtual pockets. Just last week, Megan Thee Stallion worked with the mobile payment service to give away $1 million in Bitcoin. Now, #partner has taken on an entirely new meaning and Cash App is at the forefront of the "digital handout." Over the course of the pandemic, Cash App's number of active customers conducting daily transactions has nearly doubled. It's surely a good thing for people to get no-strings-attached money in a time of so much economic precarity and health hazards – but why must celebrities capitalize on it?

It seems like tweeting your Cash App or Venmo with the right hashtags is the new version of lining up at food banks or filling out the proper forms in order to collect unemployment. To ensure you receive both the government and celebrity-sponsored stimulus packages, make sure the IRS has your current address, and don't forget to add #KKWHoliday to your tweet.