She didn't time this well.
Kourtney Kardashian is facing backlash for a badly-timed post celebrating a colleague's birthday.
In 2022, Kourtney co-founded her wellness brand Lemme with Simon Huck.
Yesterday (Nov 5), Simon was elebrating his 41st birthday. As a gift, Kourtney sent him a cake with the words ""Lemme Eat Cake" written on it.
This is a nod to the well-known quote from the French Queen Marie Antoinette, "let them eat cake."
In the 18th Century, it is believed that Marie Antoinette had been told that her subjects were starving and had no bread to eat. In response, she said "Let them eat cake."
Cake was significantly more expensive than bread and deemed a luxury item of the era. The quote now symbolises the wealthy being oblivious to the needs of the less privileged.
Simon shared the chocolate cake on his Instastory, writing: "Love you @kourtneykardash."
What have people said about Kourtney?
Followers were quick to hit back online, particularly as the post was shared on the same day as the US election. Millions of Americans are already struggling with the rising cost of living. The election has caused anxiety over how the results will impact their lives.
One person on Reddit called the reference "intentional" and "beyond tasteless and gross."
Another Redditor received hundreds of upvotes on their comment: "Wow. Just a big f**k you to the rest of us. Can’t wait to see them fall."
However, one person did suggest that Kourtney was potentially "unaware." While they said they were not trying to defend Kourtney, they wrote: "I don’t see this family being super literate. I’d be surprised if she knew who Marie Antoinette was, much less could spell it correctly."
Kourtney has not yet posted a response to the criticism. Yesterday (Nov 5) was also the birthday of Kourtney's mother, Kris Jenner.
Kourtney continued to share a number of pictures of cakes on her Instastory throughout the day, suggesting to fans that they should guess which cake for Kris was her gift.