There aren’t many downsides to being a billionaire.
You can buy whatever you want, do whatever you want, colonize the entire solar system as much as you want.
All in all, it’s a pretty sweet deal.
But as Kylie Jenner learned the hard way this week — with ungodly amounts of money comes a tiny bit of responsibility.
As you’re probably aware, Kylie became a billionaire thanks to her wildly successful line of cosmetics.
This week, she announced that she would be launching a “completely revamped” Kylie Cosmetics brand featuring “elevated” formulas and new packaging.
Fans were excited about the rebrand, and industry experts saw it as the second phase in Kylie’s plan to become the number one name in cosmetics.
But now, critics are convinced that the real goal of the announcement was to draw attention away from a growing scandal involving the production of Kylie’s signature makeup.
According to a new report from The Sun, workers in the factory that produces Kylie Cosmetics were forced to toil in deplorable conditions.
And it’s not as if Kylie didn’t know about it.
In fact, employees say they never felt more degraded than when Kylie and her entourage paid a visit to the plant.
“She would come by and watch us work to see what we did," 32-year-old factory worker Irene Lopez told The Sun.
"Before they would come in our supervisors would tell us, ‘You are not allowed to talk with them, you guys are supposed to keep on working, you guys are not allowed to take any pictures or ask any questions,’" Lopez continued.
Lopez told the outlet that she and her fellow workers were instructed not to speak in Kylie’s presence or make eye contact with her.
“We had to be quiet and continue working. They would come around and just watch us on the machines or filling up the makeup tubes," she said.
"They wouldn’t talk to us, they never talked to me, they would talk to the leads and just walk around and look at everything," Lopez claimed.
“It’s not like she didn’t see what the conditions were.”
A second employee, who worked for Kylie’s company from 2015 to 2017 says the same rules applied during her time in the factory.
“Supervisors would say, ‘Don’t talk to them, don’t even look at them,’" said Martha Molasco, 31, of the dreaded days when Kylie would tour the plant.
“It was messed up. We were doing her product and we couldn’t talk to her. We couldn’t see her," Molasco added.
"If we’re doing her product and all the work is on us, she should be aware of it.”
Obviously, that’s very damning testimony — the sort of thing that would sink the career of a lesser celeb.
So it’s not surprising that Kylie’s actions are being condemned all across the social media landscape today.
“Wow what a piece of s–t! I’m so done of this woman," one person commented on Instagram.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? THEY SURE IN THE HELL NOT GOD SO WHY IS IT PEOPLE HAVE TO TREAT THEM DIFFERENTLY? NO GOOD PEOPLE,” another added.
“Using your rebrand to distract us from Kylie Cosmetics workers saying they’re been treated like garbage???" a third chimed in.
“Kylie I love you but I can’t stand by anyone that makes workers feel the way some of yours say they feel please set the record straight,” a fourth implored.
Kylie is in a very delicate position, but sadly, the public uproar probably won’t do much to improve conditions for workers.
The fact is, Jenner has a very young fan base, and it the scandal doesn’t concern her love life, most of them won’t care.
We can only hope that the criticism will prompt Kylie to reflect on her business practices.
She could lead the way for a new generation of ethical billionaires.