Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s daughter, North West, has clapped back at critics following backlash over her finger piercing.
At 12 years old, North recently displayed a piercing on her finger, featuring a bar that goes through the skin just below the knuckle, with small silver balls on each end.
This type of body modification is known as a dermal piercing. According to Healthline, it can pose a ‘high risk of complications,’ including infection, scarring, displacement, rejection, tissue damage, and hypergranulation, if not carefully managed.
After North revealed the piercing, some social media users expressed concern. A TikToker even shared a video captioned: “North west getting a finger piercing is breaking my heart, just me?”
The official account for Kim and North responded to the video succinctly with: “It’s okay.”
In a more recent TikTok video, North offered another response to all the commentary.
In this clip, North lip-synced to a voiceover saying, “Why are you crying? How old are you? Pull it together.”
She captioned the video: “This is for everyone that’s mad over a finger piercing.”
In November, Kim addressed the criticism she faced over North’s ‘face tattoos.’ The teenager had posted several TikTok clips showcasing fake face tattoos, blue contact lenses, and a faux septum-style piercing.
The 12-year-old was seen with friends, showing off different looks, including dramatic lashes, teeth grills, and sparkly nails, in preparation for Halloween.
Amidst the backlash directed at Kim, the SKIMS founder responded during an appearance on Complex’s GOAT Talk with her All’s Fair co-star Niecy Nash-Betts.
“The other day, North, if she ever posts a TikTok, it’s on my phone so she has to ask my approval and then I post it, so the comments, all that’s on my phone,” Kim explained.
“Her and her girlfriends, they love doing costumes, they love doing looks. It’s Halloween season… They put on fake tattoos on their face, fake piercings, they all had their coloured hair, they looked like an opium power puff girls is what they were going for.”
Kim further explained that after posting the video, online criticism began.
“They cropped her friends out and just had her, and were like ‘North’s disturbing new look’… she was like, ‘I don’t get it, it’s a Halloween costume, it’s all fake’,” she continued.
“So she takes my phone, and she writes back to a comment, and she goes, ‘This is such a non-issue’. And then online, it was like ‘Kim defends North to the end’.”