New York Times Writer Falls for a Fake News Story About Kim Kardashian's Butt

Editor issues correction after mistakenly posting a fictitious Kanye West quote lifted without attribution from satire site

By Rebecca Macatee Nov 24, 2014 5:27 PMTags
E! Placeholder Image

If you're going to write a snarky story criticizing Kim Kardashian's butt, it's probably best not to make an ass of yourself and use fake quotes!

New York Times writer Joyce Wadler must have missed that memo, because in an article titled "Fear of Kim Kardashian's Derrière" published Friday, she included portions of a fictitious Kanye West interview from the satirical site The Daily Currant.

Someone at the NYT noticed Ms. Wadler had been duped, and on Saturday, a new version of the story (sans fake quotes) was published. The issue was addressed in an editors' note, which read:

"An earlier version of this column was published in error. That version included what purported to be an interview that Kanye West gave to a Chicago radio station in which he compared his own derrière to that of his wife, Kim Kardashian. Mr. West's quotes were taken, without attribution, from the satirical website The Daily Currant. There is no radio station WGYN in Chicago; the interview was fictitious, and should not have been included in the column."

Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Those Times dolls just don't have a proper understanding of Kardashian coverage—Yeezus would never diss Kim's booty, nor would he compare his own arse to a Michelangelo creation.

Still, Ms. Wadler's piece purposefully took aim at Kim's famous curves. With a tinge of misogyny, she repeatedly mocked Kim's "enormous can," asking whether the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star (and her famous asset) would "need two Sherpas to get up the stairs" should she ever find herself living "in a fourth floor walk-up."

Under the guise of being highbrow, she also asked, "How happy do you think Kim will be with her enormous can at 80?"

Scott Barbour/Getty Images

It wasn't just Kim's caboose, either, that came under fire. The Times writer worried of the consequences should "impressionable women" want a healthy, curvaceous rump like the E! star's. "The sidewalks are crowded enough," she wrote. "If this big-butt thing takes off, we'll be walking in the gutters."

Or, you know, we could just celebrate all of our different body types and stay on the right side of the street.

Tune into Kourtney & Khloé Take the Hamptons Sunday night at 9 p.m. only on E!