Kim Kardashian is facing criticism after appearing to delete a TikTok video posted by her daughter North West about the family’s pets.
Kardashian, who shares the TikTok account @kimandnorth with her nine-year-old daughter, often appears in videos posted by her and Kanye West’s eldest child. However, as noted in the bio of the TikTok, the joint account is “managed by an adult”.
The Skims founder appeared to step in to manage her daughter’s posts to the social media platform last week after North reportedly uploaded a video of the family’s two Pomeranians, Sushi and Sake, in the garage.
In the video, which has since been removed from the mother-daughter duo’s TikTok, a large gated pen could be seen set up in the garage with dog training pads placed throughout the space.
The video also showed the two Pomeranians, dressed in coats, walking around the garage. The room was decorated with dog beds, large bowls filled to the brim with food, and various Christmas decorations, including stockings and a Christmas tree.
“Christmas time for the dogs,” a text caption on the video read. Kardashian added the Pomeranians to her family in 2017.
Although the video is not available to view on Kardashian and North’s TikTok account, it has circulated on Twitter and TikTok, where viewers have questioned why the dogs are in the garage.
“This video was deleted from North’s account. Is it because Kim Kardashian doesn’t want people to think they keep their dogs in the garage?” a user who goes by the username @needthedeets wrote in a text caption on the reposted video, which has since been viewed more than 1.7 million times. “I wonder why they deleted it…” they added in the caption.
Another user, who goes by the username @thoughtswgracie, then made a video condemning the setup, with the TikToker alleging that “Kim Kardashian and her team deleted [the video]”.
“But, before it was deleted, we got to see how her dogs live, and apparently, they live in the garage,” she said. “They’re obviously not potty-trained, and these Pomeranians are years old.”
The woman, who claimed to run a “dog business” that walks dogs and provides daycare for the pets, claimed that she’s “never seen this much food in a Pomeranian’s bowl”.
“That’s how much food I would give my husky, which makes me believe they’re getting fed once a day and someone is coming to check up on them and clean up after them,” she continued. “But you’re a f**king billionaire. Why can’t you have someone train your dogs so they can have a happy life and live in your house?”
The TikToker then clarified that she’s “not saying that this is the worst, most inhumane way to have a dog,” but claimed that, because Kardashian is a billionaire, she can “provide a better life than this for your dogs”. The video was viewed an additional 3.9 million times.
The TikTok has since sparked a debate among viewers. Many agree in their shared criticism over the setup for the pets in the garage, while others questioned why Kardashian deleted the video.
“They treat their dogs like they’re accessories, it’s heartbreaking,” one person claimed, while another said: “Wow, my dogs live a better life than the Kardashians’ dogs.”
Someone else alleged the dogs may be in the garage because the reality star doesn’t want them to interfere with her “aesthetic.”
According to another viewer, Kardashian “rushed” to delete the video because “it’s obvious they are not taking care of their pets”.
Despite the backlash, many viewers defended the famous family on the basis that the dogs appear to be taken care of.
“They’re not being neglected at all,” one person commented, while someone else said: “Y’all know her garage is heated to the fullest. I see nothing wrong with this at all.”
“In the garage and still got their own Christmas tree. Those dogs are perfectly fine lol,” another person added.
Others reminded critics that the 10-second video does not show the whole story, and does not confirm that the dogs live in the garage.
“They could have had guests over and just put them there… y’all don’t know the context,” one person wrote.
Another asked: “What if it’s only temporary until after the holidays?” while someone else wrote: “So y’all just made a conclusion off a 10-second video of how the dogs live?”
One fan also speculated that Kardashian may have deleted the video from her and her daughter’s account because of concerns about viewers being able to see inside her home’s garage.
“I bet it’s actually because it shows the garage interior and Kim’s [worried] about someone finding a way in her home ever since her robbery,” they wrote, in reference to Kardashian’s experience being robbed at gunpoint in October 2016.
“Okay but you do realise that garage is bigger and more equipped than most of our houses. Just saying,” another person wrote.
According to the pet-walking website Wag! “dogs are known for being highly adaptable, so they would probably do just fine in a safe space in your garage”.
The website also notes that there are a number of factors that need to be considered before a dog is kept in a garage for any period of time, including the existence of an “enclosed area away from any dangerous substances or objects,” controlled temperature, and “the appropriate amount of food and water and plenty of exercise and bathroom breaks”.
“Dogs also need interaction, so you need to make sure that you spend time with them,” the website adds, before concluding: “Unless your garage has been converted into a living space, it is likely that it isn’t a safe space for your dog.”
Although Kardashian has not addressed the deleted video, she previously opened up about the pet Pomeranians during a December 2017 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, in which she sought advice from celebrity trainer Cesar Millan over Sushi’s constant barking.
At the time, the celebrity trainer informed Kardashian that Sushi’s behaviour stemmed from a “lack of structure and boundaries,” according to the DailyMail.
This is also not the first time that she has censored what her daughter posts to TikTok. Last December, Kardashian intervened after her eldest child offered viewers a “house tour” on TikTok Live.
The tour was cut short after Kardashian, who was seen laying in bed in the video, told her daughter she was “not allowed” to be streaming a live video without her consent.
The Independent has contacted a representative for Kardashian for comment.
