Scott Disick, social media and Keeping Up with the Kardashians star, is no stranger to controversy.
The reality star, 41, who has over 29 million Instagram followers, regularly shares photos of his life with his three children, Mason, Penelope and Reign, who he has with ex Kourtney Kardashian.
Despite their on again off again romance, which ended in 2015, Disick and Kardashian have continued to co parent their children, and still very much remain a part of each other’s lives.
Just days ago, Disick took to social media to upload a very innocent, candid photo of himself with his daughter, Penelope.
The first time one saw it though, it looked like a sweet father-daughter moment at that prominent Asian restaurant.
The message was, however, quickly criticized online.
In the picture, we can see the six year old Penelope pulling the corners of her eyes upward. Some of Disick’s fans questioned the gesture.
The way Penelope did everything, especially when she went to an Asian restaurant and there were chopsticks on the table, mimicked an unpleasant stereotype commonly aimed at East Asian groups, they said.
One anonymous commenter, Asian American, said that they were insulted. ‘Adults should be a good example.’”
Others agreed, saying things like, ‘She must have seen someone do it and thought it was OK,” or ‘Teach her not to do the Chinese eye thing at a sushi restaurant.’ Don’t teach her she’s a racist.”
Many people quickly condemned the father-daughter duo as insensitive.
Others went so far as to suggest Disick take responsibility for teaching his daughter about cultural sensitivity.
“All that wealth, you’d think some would go towards education on ignorance and cultural sensitivity,” said one opponent.
‘It’s a parent’s responsibility to teach a kid to do the right thing,’ another commenter said.
But not all who supported Disick were prepared to criticize.
But several people raced to defend the snap, saying Penelope was just making a stupid face, like children often do.
One supporter said: ‘She is a little f-king girl making a goofy face in a picture with her dad.’ Another added, “I’m Chinese. Pull OUT not UP if u mock Asian eyes.”
A couple of other people thought it was unfair to pin the responsibility for racism onto a young child without understanding the repercussions of her actions.
So far, Disick has not responded formally to the backlash. Hours later, however, he tweeted another photo with Penelope, with the caption ‘Living my best life,’ which some interpreted as a not so subtle swipe at the ongoing debate.
With Disick having been friends with Kourtney Kardashian for years now (at least, we’ve seen their friendship on television), the story becomes more interesting.
Over time, the ex-couple’s dynamic has altered from the time they were fighting about how to raise the children, to now where they work together to co parent those children.
Kardashian and Disick’s devotion to family has not waned since Kardashian married Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. The problem is that it’s not clear if Disick will have anything else to say about this.
The internet community is now split on whether it is that post’s consequences or a father innocently enjoying a moment with his kid.
Every action can be analyzed in a variety of ways, and it’s a debate that illuminates the complexity of raising children in public.
