Khloe Kardashian defends Kim Kardashian from criticism over private island birthday trip

Khloe Kardashian has addressed the backlash over her sister Kim Kardashian’s 40th birthday party, which took place on a private island with friends and family amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, Kim shared several photos from the surprise trip on Instagram, where guests could be seen celebrating her birthday without social distancing or masks.

According to the Skims founder, prior to the trip, she had required everyone she invited to quarantine and undergo “multiple health screens”.

“After two weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time,” the 40-year-old captioned the photos. “We danced, rode bikes, swam near whales, kayaked, watched a movie on the beach and so much more.”

The KKW Beauty mogul also acknowledged her privilege, adding: “I realise that for most people, this is something that is so far out of reach right now, so in moments like these, I am humbly reminded of how privileged my life is.”

The trip and the subsequent social media posts were met with criticism, with many accusing Kim of being “tone-deaf.”

“This is quite literally the most tone-deaf thing you’ve ever posted (kimono aside),” one person commented on Instagram, while another said: “Whew, what a way to pretend a pandemic doesn’t exist.”

On Thursday, Khloe discussed the backlash during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she said she “gets it”.

"I haven't heard a lot about it, but I did hear people were upset that we went out of town," the Good American founder said. "This year is a frustrating year - I get it.”

However, the reality star defended her sister on the basis that it was her 40th birthday - and that their tourism was appreciated.

“I think there's so many frustrations going on for everybody, but also it's her 40th and this is something that she really wanted to do for us, it was such a nice thing,” Khloe continued.

Emphasising the safety precautions that the group of 20 to 25 took, the 36-year-old also told DeGeneres that the luxury destination was grateful for the business.

"Being there with all the precautions that we took…  and how grateful everyone was for the tourism aspect of it," she said. “So many people said that we were their first party or guests that they've had in months and what it's done for them to be able to pay their bills or to be able to do stuff for their family, just hearing those messages when we were there, we felt really good and we felt so safe.

“We did it in the safest way that I could imagine someone doing it.”

Overall, Khloe said that the trip was “such a beautiful experience,” and that she hopes Kim can focus on “how beautiful it was and what she did for everybody” despite the criticism.

“I don’t want that to overshadow all the greatness that happened,” she said.

This week, Khloe revealed she was diagnosed with coronavirus earlier this year in a clip for Thursday’s episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. 

In phone video recorded herself, the Revenge Body host said it was “really bad for a couple days,” and that she had experienced symptoms such as vomiting, shaking, migraines, a cough and hot and cold flashes.

“Let me tell you. That sh*t is real. But, we’re all going to get through this,” she said.