Khloe Kardashian has defended her right to edit pictures of herself after an unfiltered snap was mistakenly shared online.
The reality TV star’s team tried to have the photograph, showing the 36-year-old standing by a pool in a leopard-print bikini, removed from social media.
It was unedited and featured Kardashian in a more natural light than followers of her Instagram page may be used to.
However, the attempts to take the picture down resulted in some fans sharing it more widely.
Kardashian has now responded to the controversy, saying her self-image has been battered by years of cruel comments online.
She shared a video of herself wearing only bikini bottoms, hiding her chest with her arm and said it was to prove her body was not photoshopped.
Kardashian also posted a lengthy explanation of why she edits her pictures and said she would continue to do so.
She said while the unfiltered picture was “beautiful,” she had the right to ask for it to be removed.
Kardashian wrote: “In truth, the pressure, constant ridicule and judgement my entire life to be perfect and to meet other’s standards of how I should look has been too much to bear.
“‘Khloe is the fat sister.’ ‘Khloe is the ugly sister’. ‘Her dad must not be her real dad because she looks so different’ ‘The only way she could have lost that weight must have been from surgery.’
“Should I go on?”
Kardashian said she was not asking for sympathy but “to be acknowledged for being human”.
She wrote that she tries to live her life "as honestly as possible and with empathy and kindness", adding “it’s almost unbearable trying to live up to the impossible standards that the public have all set for me”.
Kardashian, mother to two-year-old daughter True, said she had been conditioned to feel she was unattractive after years of criticism.
She compared Instagram filters, good lighting and editing to makeup and having her nails done, and said she used them to “present myself to the world the way I want to be seen, and it’s exactly what I will continue to do unapologetically”.
Kardashian added: “My body, my image and how I choose to look and what I want to share is my choice. It’s not for anyone to decide or judge what is acceptable or not anymore.”
The final slide of her post was a message for her fans.
She wrote: “We are all unique and perfect in our own way. Whichever way one chooses to be seen. I have realised that we cannot continue to live life trying to fit into the perfect mold of what others have set for us.
“Just do you and make sure your heart is happy.”
Her sister Kim Kardashian sent a message of support in the comments.
She wrote: “I love you Khloe.”
