Kim Kardashian Breaks Silence on Her Controversial 2010 Photo Shoot with 16-Year-Old Justin Bieber: “Who Thought That Was a Good Idea?”
Kim Kardashian is looking back on one of the most talked-about photo shoots of her early fame years — and even she admits it probably wasn’t the best idea. The reality star recently opened up about her 2010 Elle magazine photo shoot with then-16-year-old pop star Justin Bieber, calling it “awkward” and “definitely not something I’d do again.”
At the time, the shoot made headlines everywhere. Bieber was one of the biggest young stars in the world, fresh off the success of “Baby,” while Kardashian was skyrocketing to global fame with Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The magazine paired them for a playful, high-fashion spread that portrayed the duo in romantic, beach-themed poses — something that raised plenty of eyebrows even back then.
“Looking back, I can’t believe no one questioned it,” Kardashian said during a recent interview. “I was 29, and he was 16. I think we were all just caught up in the moment — it was more about creating buzz than thinking about how it would be perceived.”
She went on to explain that in 2010, the social media landscape was entirely different. Instagram wasn’t yet the cultural powerhouse it is today, and viral moments were still a relatively new concept. “At that time, everything was about magazine covers and creating moments people would talk about. That’s what we thought we were doing — it was supposed to be funny and flirty, not serious,” she said.
The photos showed Bieber with his arms around Kardashian and even included a playful shot of the two running along the beach together. Fans at the time had mixed reactions — many thought it was fun, while others criticized the optics of the pairing. “Even though it was innocent, it looked weird,” Kardashian admitted. “Now, as a mom, I definitely see it differently.”
Justin Bieber himself once joked about the photo shoot, telling fans years ago that he had “no idea what was going on” and just went along with it because “it was Kim Kardashian.” The two remained friendly afterward, but neither publicly revisited the topic until now.
Kardashian’s candid reflection has been met with a wave of support online, with many praising her for acknowledging it openly. “Kim’s self-awareness has really evolved,” one fan wrote. “She’s not afraid to look back and admit when something didn’t age well.”
This kind of honesty isn’t new for Kardashian, who has often used her platform to talk about lessons learned from her early fame. Over the past decade, she’s transformed her public image from tabloid star to business mogul, law student, and advocate for criminal justice reform. Her willingness to discuss uncomfortable memories shows just how much she’s grown.
“When you’re young and in the spotlight, everything feels like a good idea,” she said with a laugh. “But time gives you perspective. You learn, you grow, and you realize not every viral moment is worth chasing.”
For Kim Kardashian, the 2010 Elle shoot is now just a quirky memory from a whirlwind era — a reminder of how much both she and Justin Bieber have changed since those early fame-filled days. “We were just two people figuring out our careers,” she reflected. “It’s funny now, but yeah — definitely one of those ‘what were we thinking?’ moments.”
