Kylie Jenner responds to backlash over appeal to help make-up artist after accident

Kylie Jenner has responded after facing criticism for not donating more to a funding page in aid of a make-up artist who was reportedly seriously injured in a car crash.

The row started when the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star and cosmetics entrepreneur shared the GoFundMe page, set up to pay Samuel Rauda’s medical bills, on social media. Mr Rauda was involved in an accident and “underwent major surgery” earlier in March, the page states.

Jenner, 23, donated $5,000 (£3,600) and shared the appeal with her 222 million followers on Instagram, saying: “Everyone take a moment to say a prayer for Sam who got into an accident this past weekend. And swipe up to visit his families’ go fund me.”

While for most people, this would simply be a nice thing to do, some users were quick to highlight the star’s significant wealth. In 2019, at the age of 21, Jenner was named the youngest self-made billionaire of all-time by Forbes, although the magazine later stripped her of billionaire status.

Still, her wealth did not escape social media users, who said she should have given more to the appeal herself rather than encouraging fans to help.

Jenner has now responded to the backlash, saying she believed the money she donated was making up the difference between the total raised and the target, and her intentions have been “twisted”.

In a message on social media, she said: “It’s important to me to clear up this false narrative that I’ve asked fans for money and am not paying for my make-up artist’s medical bills.”

Mr Rauda is no longer her make-up artist and they “don’t have a personal relationship anymore”, she said, but added that she worked with him a few years ago and he was “the sweetest”.

Jenner said she found out about the appeal through her current make-up artist and when she first clicked on the website, the goal was set at $10,000 (£7,200). Some $6,000 (£4,300) had already been raised, she said, so she donated $5,000 to take it past the target.

She then shared the page on Instagram to “gain more awareness if anyone also felt compelled to share or donate”.

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Jenner added: “I don’t know how all of this got so twisted but his family has reached out.. and are very appreciative of all the donations, prayers, and love towards Sam.

“Anyone that knows me knows that I do things from the heart and I try to be helpful whenever I can be.

“Let’s all stay positive and keep Sam, his family, and anyone you know who is going through a difficult time in our prayers.”

After Jenner initially shared the page, donations shot up. It now has a target of $120,000 dollars (£86,000) and has raised more than $100,000.

Jenner is the younger half-sister of Kim Kardashian and has been in the public eye since she was a child, growing up on camera in Keeping Up With The Kardashians, the family’s famous reality show which comes to an end this year.

She launched her own make-up and beauty range, Kylie Cosmetics, in 2015.

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