Kim Kardashian Talks Inappropriate Photoshoot With Justin Bieber
Kim Kardashian and the Kardashian-Jenner clan have long intersected with Justin Bieber in ways that blur the lines between personal and professional. From a 2010 Elle magazine photoshoot featuring a 16-year-old Bieber and a then-29-year-old Kardashian, to maintaining warm social ties through mutual friendships and media events, Kardashian and Bieber’s relationship has often raised eyebrows. Recently, the SKIMS founder reflected on a past moment that should’ve gotten her canceled. Here’s how she openly reflected on the 2010 photoshoot.
Kim Kardashian reflected on her ‘odd’ 2010 photoshoot with Justin Bieber
In 2010, Kim Kardashian and then-16-year-old Justin Bieber posed together for a photoshoot featured in Elle magazine. The shoot, inspired by the 1967 film The Graduate, depicted Kardashian in a flirtatious, Mrs. Robinson-style role, which, at the time, was intended to be playful. However, reflecting on the shoot years later, Kardashian acknowledged that the concept was inappropriate and questioned how it was approved.
“I don’t know who approved this, and I don’t know who thought that this was normal, this narrative,” Kardashian noted on the Call Her Daddy podcast in October 2025. “But I did a photoshoot with Justin Bieber, and he was 16 years old. And I don’t know how old I was. And it was like — his girlfriend was there, his parents were, I mean, it was like, nothing creepy at all. But, I look back, and I’m like, that’s the one thing that I feel like — you know, he’s a good, dear friend of ours and the whole family. But, like, who thought that that was a good idea? I must’ve been 30 years old.”
“I just think that that was an odd concept,” Kardashian continued, noting that using The Graduate as the inspiration felt off. She also reflected on how no one else at the time felt the photoshoot was odd. “But now, we look back, and I’m like, that would’ve not been the most appropriate thing.”
Kim Kardashian says she’s never done anything else that could be considered a cancelable offense
While speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Kim Kardashian noted that aside from her 2010 photoshoot with Justin Bieber, she’s never done or said anything that others would cancel her for.
“I’ve never really done anything to be canceled,” she explained. “I stand by everything that I — I’ve never said anything crazy. I’ve never done anything crazy. Maybe just by association, being around people, and people thinking.”
The podcast host, Alex Cooper, seemed to disagree with Kardashian’s stance. Kardashian beckoned Cooper to tell her of something cancelable that the reality star did or said that she’s not aware of. But Cooper refused, noting that she didn’t need Kardashian-Jenner fans coming after her after the podcast episode aired.
Justin Bieber stood up for the reality star in the past
Fans certainly have their opinions regarding the 2010 photoshoot between Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber. While the odd (and possibly inappropriate) shoot continues to leave fans stunned, Bieber has a great relationship with the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star. In August 2025, he was spotted spending time at Kardashian’s Malibu estate, proving their friendship remains strong. Additionally, Kardashian commented sweetly on a photo of Bieber’s son, Jack Blues.
The singer also stood up for Kardashian in the past. In a 2012 interview with GQ, he told one of his business advisors that Kardashian “works hard.”
“You guys are so mean, bro,” he said about Kardashian at the time, according to E! News. “People say she doesn’t do anything; she actually does do stuff. … She works hard.”
