I recently came across an article which talked about Christina Applegate and how we all needed her, or at least someone like her, growing up. It all started when Candace Owens slammed Kim Kardashian for including a woman in a wheelchair in her SKIMS campaign. Owens is a conservative commentator. She has a lot to say about practically everyone, particularly about the Kardashian – Jenner family. I can’t blame her, though. Anything the Kardashians say or do makes really good content. Many of my posts on this blog have a Kardashian reference, so I can’t complain.
Controversial – literally, the only word to describe Owens. It’s her trademark. I can’t say it’s good or bad because there are many people who agree with her views and find her an interesting person to invest in, but her views are controversial nonetheless. I don’t follow her religiously by any means like some fans do. I’ve seen some clips, and I actually agreed with some of her views and opinions that she shared. I was recently reminded of Owens again thanks to Christina Applegate, who stood up to people, women particularly, with disabilities.
Owens initially said the following on her podcast:
“I don’t really understand how far we’re going to take this inclusivity thing, I really don’t get it, and if I am wrong educate me,” Owens said on her podcast, then asking “why this needs to be done.”
“Look, I assume that people who’re in wheelchairs also have to buy bras, have to buy underwear, I just assume that is a thing. I didn’t know that we needed to see that in our face. I didn’t know that now we’re going to have to look forward to campaigns where women that are in wheelchairs are now wearing bras and underwear because we as a society cannot get to the bottom of our ridiculousness.”
To which Applegate replied on Twitter:
Yes late tweet. But woke to see the most horrifying thing. This Candace person making comments about companies who see we need help,” she said in a first post. “It’s f—— gross. I thank skims and Tommy and Guide beauty and @neowalksticks for seeing us [too] #youshouldknowbetter.”
The Dead to Me actress went on to discuss her own experience with having to dress up for events and advocated for “accessibility clothing.”
“Going to try and sleep but my rage is keeping me awake. Candace Owens, do you know when you have seen pictures of me how f—— hard it was to get my clothes on? A team has to help me!!!,” she wrote. “So I’m excited for accessibility clothing for me and my community. Hope u wake [up].”
Applegate then said in a follow-up tweet that if Owens wanted to “get on the phone with me to be educated on being disabled,” she would welcome the call and not approach her with “anger,” but with “love” because Owens “needs to hear that.”
In a final message, Applegate shared a photo of a model wearing SKIMS attire and thanked the brand for “showing how beautiful the disabled community is” and for creating an “adaptive line for those of us with mobility issues.”
It was a very gracious response that came from Applegate, who’s living with multiple sclerosis (MS) and has since retired from her acting career. I can’t say I fully blame Owens for anything that she said about disability representation. She’s unaware of the struggles that people with disabilities face in the real world, especially those who are in wheelchairs. It takes to be in one to know them. But she also shouldn’t state her opinions on a topic she knows nothing about in the first place. Maybe before ever mentioning anything about disability, she should’ve done her research. That’s where Applegate’s frustrations were coming from in the first place, I’m sure. She has first-hand experience in the hardships people with physical limitations face in dressing themselves.
Kim Kardashian, aside from being a reality star, is a businesswoman. That being said, she might not have had any first-hand experience of what it’s really like for a person with physical limitations to live everyday life, but it’s her job to know by doing research if she wants to be successful in her product sales. Considering the fact that Applegate was defending her business campaign proved she did her research. The campaign’s premise was to show that SKIMS is for everyone, and Owens missed that mark.
Just yesterday, I watched ‘Crip Camp’, a Netflix documentary that was produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. The documentary showcases the history of disability before the Disability Rights Act took place in the 1970’s. I’ll be talking more thoroughly in my next post. One pivotal moment that really made me go, ‘WOW!’ was when a camper told an interviewer that people with disabilities face a lack of privacy. I never personally felt like I experienced a lack of privacy due to my disability. But it was mainly because I’ve always been independent enough to do my daily tasks with no help or very limited help. There are, however, people with disabilities and physical limitations that are really restricted in their abilities to live a ‘normal life’, and therefore, need someone by their side all the time, 24/7, no matter what because they can’t function on their own. That’s what the camper meant by her experiencing a lack of privacy.
This immediately got me thinking of Kim Kardashian’s business model. A lack of privacy is one of, if not the, biggest issues disabled people face in the life. Even such a simple task as putting clothes can be so difficult for a disabled person. It sounds crazy, and maybe even ridiculous as Candace Owens said. All Kardashian do was see a need for clothing disabled women can put on independently, and with that, create exactly that through her company. It’s actually smart, and more businesses NEED to do the same.
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