Netizens Blame Kim Kardashian For North's 'Horrible' Simba Performance Amid Claims She Paid For The Role: 'Can't Buy Talent'
Kim Kardashian was a proud mom following North West's performance in "The Lion King" stage production, but many were not pleased by what she allegedly did to secure her daughter's role.
Kardashian and Kanye West's eldest child, North, 10, recently made her Hollywood Bowl acting debut as Simba. The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star seemingly dismissed the critics who called her daughter's performance "poor" and "horrible" by sharing photos of North rocking her Simba costume on Instagram on Tuesday.
However, the comments section was still flooded with hate comments, and a number of social media users blamed Kardashian for the backlash directed at her daughter amid rumors that she paid for North to get the role.
"Poor kid being bullied because her family put her in a situation she shouldn't have been in!!" one commented.
Another added, "Poor girl, the embarrassment of this performance might scar her for years."
"She's gonna resent you for this when she grows up lol," a third person opined.
"You failed her and used her. [Y]ou did not protect her," someone else said.
"I can't defend [you] on this one, she needs to work on her vocals. Can't believe nobody stopped her screaming," a Kardashian fan said.
"Why would you do this to your daughter?" another asked.
Meanwhile, some seemingly criticized West's talent or lack thereof and slammed Kardashian for the rumor that she paid for the role. Another hoped that Kardashian had learned her lesson.
"Embarrassing. You all can't buy talent!!!!" one wrote.
Another opined, "Can't buy talent."
"[You] bought that role. Boo," a third person wrote, accusing Kardashian of paying for her daughter's role in the performance.
"I hope this was a lesson. You can't just go around buying these kinds of things. It wasn't cool," someone else said.
"Perfect example of just because you can, doesn't mean you should," another person remarked.
Despite the backlash, some showed love and support for North and Kardashian. Khloe Kardashian left a comment that read, "I love you Northie," with a lion emoji.
"I'm loving this. So precious," Tyra Banks added.
"Don't blame Kim, the director and producers of the show decided the show quality," another social media user said.
One mom, whose child was among those who auditioned for the role, claimed that she heard stories Kardashian paid so North would get the role. In a video uploaded on TikTok, lejennymatthews said her "extremely talented and gorgeous" daughter auditioned for the role of Simba and made it through four rounds of callbacks. The final round was with three girls, and her daughter was among them.
"While we were waiting in the audition room with one other girl and her mother, someone walked in. It was Kim Kardashian with North West. We had heard that there was someone that was pulling strings to get their daughter in front of the casting director," she said. "We found out it was North West on that final audition, and we were so disappointed."
She continued, "We had heard that they wanted to cast a talented kid with some good experience, but one that doesn't have a name because they wanted to uplift a smaller voice in the community, and we thought my daughter was that person. But Kim Kardashian allegedly paid her daughter to be in this production, and her daughter does not have the experience for this role as you could see."
