It was only last month that Kendall Jenner got caught up in a social media backlash against Pepsi's latest advert, which saw her co-opting protest and the #BlackLivesMatter movement as something that can be resolved by a while woman handing a fizzy drink to police officers. So, not great.
However, it appears the 21-year-old has become the centre of yet another controversy, as the new face of Vogue India's 10th anniversary issue.
While the likes of actress Priyanka Chopra (voted the second most beautiful woman in the world no less), or Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai might have made more sense as the face of the magazine as a way of representing Indian culture, the editors instead chose the white American supermodel to appear on the cover, with the headline 'Indian Affair'. Unsurprisingly, Indian readers are not happy.
On Tuesday, the magazine posted an image to Instagram announcing its new cover, and received a backlash from users who said the publication appears to have missed out on the 'perfection occasion to celebrate Indian women's beauty and culture'.
One Instagram user wrote: 'Really you chose a 'fake' over a beautiful Indian woman???'
Another added: 'You should put someone who understands or at least respects the celebration of fashion, our land and our culture.'
Meanwhile another said: 'Why not put some of our asian queens who slay on the front cover to represent our heritage & ethnicity, to celebrate ten years of India's Vogue magazines.'
Instagram user Sabrina Martinez spoke to CNN about the matter, revealing her sentiments about the insensitive cover:
'Yes, it's pretty, but we're not celebrating white/European beauty standards...we're trying to celebrate Indian women of color,' she wrote on the post.
She told the news outlet: 'It says that's the beauty standard, it says that you can't be the epitome of beauty if you're not white.
'Even this magazine that's supposed to be celebrating another culture, another type of beauty is not recognizing even what it's supposed to be standing for,' she added.
The news comes days after Priyanka Chopra admitted to using whitening creams when she was younger.
'I had a lot of self-esteem issues. I was very conscious of the color of my skin,' she told Glamour.
'When I was an actor, around my early 20s, I did a commercial for a skin-lightening cream. I was playing that girl with insecurities. And when I saw it, I was like, 'Oh shit. What did I do?' And I started talking about being proud of the way I looked. I actually really like my skin tone,' she added.
While the pages inside the magazine do feature the likes of Bollywood actors Sushant Singh Rajput and Hong Kong-born Katrina Kaif, the decision to choose Jenner for a cover is bizarre, especially in the aftermath of half-Palestinian model Gigi Hadid's recent appearance on the first-ever issue of Vogue Arabia in a veil, sparking criticism of cultural appropriation.
The fact is, in order to celebrate diversity, we need to see it consistently and champion it on every platform available.
The verdict? Must do better.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
