Kim Kardashian Reacts to Criticism of Office Tanning Bed

On Wednesday, the reality star shared a video on TikTok, in which she gave her followers an inside look at her jaw-dropping SKKN offices, which included a 3D model of her brain, a large wall featuring her magazine covers, and a tanning bed.

“I’m Kim Kardashian, of course I have a tanning bed,” she said in the clip, with Kim gesturing to her tanning bed while wearing a robe and protective goggles on her head.

After she posted the video, many social media users, several TikTok doctors, and even some beauty magazines criticized Kim for using a tanning bed — and seemingly promoting it with her millions of followers — due to not only the known risks of tanning devices, but also the fact her younger sister, Khloe Kardashian, suffered from melanoma not too long ago.

Many called out the SKKN founder on social media, with the majority of critics pointing out Khloe’s past with skin cancer; Khloe, 39, had a melanoma tumor removed from her cheek in 2022, and opened up about the health care on social media.

“I find it mad Kim Kardashian openly promoting tanning beds,” a user wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Like I’m well aware she doesn’t actually care about people’s safety and what they choose to do, but she does massively care about bad PR and her own image, so I’m really surprised she would openly promote that.”

“The wildest thing about the ‘Im Kim Kardashian’ video is that her sister had skin cancer and she still has a tanning bed in her office? I feel like the video just proves that she doesn’t actually know anything about skin care and wouldn’t make me trust her products,” a second person added, referencing the fact that the tanning bed was in the office for Kim’s skincare brand.

“Kim Kardashian has a tanning bed in her home, didn’t her sister Khloe get diagnosed with melanoma recently…yikes,” a third critic posted, while another said, “‘I’m Kim Kardashian, of course I am going to promote skin cancer even though my sister has been treated for melanoma.’ Seriously though, who shows off a tanning bed in the Year of Our Lord 2024?”

Early Friday morning, Kim addressed the backlash on X, and explained why she has a tanning bed in her office.

“I have psoriasis and it really helps when it’s bad,” she wrote. “But I don’t use it too often.”

The Kardashians star quoted an article from Allure magazine, which, like many online, criticized Kim for her tanning bed use, detailing the possible risks and also noting Khloe’s past with melanoma.

Meanwhile, Kim has been open up about her years-long battle with psoriasis. According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, UVB phototherapy is an effective treatment for the chronic skin condition. However, NPF states that the benefits come from UVB light, while tanning beds “omit mostly UVA light.”

The website notes, in bold, that it “does not support the use of indoor tanning beds as a substitute for phototherapy performed with a prescription and under a health care provider’s supervision.”