It’s a match the Internet cannot seem to grasp: Timothée Chalamet, the gaunt, French actor absorbed into the upper echelons of New York society, whose intellect has earned him acceptances into both NYU and Columbia University, with…Kylie Jenner?
Rumors of the couple first surfaced in April 2023 and were initially dismissed by users online (either out of disbelief, sheer pettiness, or both) as an April Fools’ Day joke. Two years and two very public Golden Globe appearances later, many die-hard Chalamet fans—including the owner behind the rather infamous ClubChalamet X account—cannot grasp the possibility of the couple’s happiness. The main question many people seem to ask is: what do they even talk about?
The underlying assumptions driving the question are not subtle: Kylie is too stupid and too shallow for him; all she cares about is her appearance; she will never be able to understand his depth and introspection.
As a member of the Kardashian-Jenner monolith, almost her entire life, from adolescence to adulthood, has been filmed and released for the consumption of millions of people around the world. What many people seem to forget is the amount of careful curation and consideration that pours into each episode of The Kardashians, and even Kylie’s Instagram posts. These forms of media are not authentic or “real,” but rather products of social strategies that are inconsiderate of authenticity. The Kardashian-Jenners, like many in the public spotlight, have one key goal in mind: protecting their stakes in the global attention economy. Any attention is good attention.
It is an old sexist trope to assume a woman is “dumb” because she is beautiful or seems to care about her appearance, and confidently posts about her beauty. Just look at Hollywood’s biggest icon, Marilyn Monroe. Claims of her being a dumb blonde fall short when compared to the reality of her career: she was known for her comedic timing, reading and studying in her spare time, and knowing what she wanted.
Kylie has monopolized her public attention to serve her career. While Kylie is by no means “self-made,” she does keep herself busy. The 27-year-old is the owner of multiple businesses, including her new fashion label Khy, the drink brand Sprinter, Kylie Skin, and her oldest and most famous enterprise, Kylie Cosmetics. While she was not always the star of her family’s reality TV show growing up—that title goes to Kim Kardashian—her marketing techniques have garnered her more followers on Instagram than any of her family members.
Another sexist trope the Internet is quick to fall into is the idea that changes in Kylie’s personal style are to the credit of her romantic partners, not her agency. Obviously, the celebrity’s style is not the same as it was five years ago—she and rapper Travis Scott were together at the time—as it is right now. Is it so improbable to believe that her “natural” look could be the product of both her maturation and acute awareness of what looks are trending, and what aren’t? Like any celebrity—especially one that has ventured into the business world—projecting a public image that is in conversation with relevant trends is an essential part of remaining relevant, and likable.
We readily consume the carefully curated lives presented to us by celebrities, mistakenly believing we have intimate knowledge of individuals we barely know, and Kylie clearly understands how to leverage this. While she may not personally engage with every online comment, she undoubtedly benefits from the manufactured intimacy she cultivates through active posting, charming interview clips of her, and one of her many relatable captions. Ironically, those who criticize her as superficial and unintelligent often fall prey to the very illusion they claim to see through it. Her critics oftentimes become, inadvertently, her loudest advertisers.
Double standards define the public’s perception of their relationship. While Timothee is praised for his ability to embrace both his intellectual side and his quirky personality—which came to life, especially during the press tour for A Complete Unknown—Kylie Jenner faces a different set of expectations. She is rarely afforded the same freedom to be “pretty,” “smart,” and “funny” all at once. Is it such a radical thought to believe that perhaps Kylie is the funny one in the relationship?
The truth is—we don’t know exactly how smart Kylie Jenner or Timothée Chalamet are. What we do know is that the couple appears to be genuinely happy and enamored with one another in many of the photos circulated online. And perhaps, that is all we need to know.
