Like many modern pop culture icons, Kylie Jenner is a multi-hyphenate. She’s an entrepreneur, author, fashion designer, and social media luminary. It seems there’s nothing the 19-year-old can’t do. This week, though, the internet discovered her weakness. As People notes, Jenner shared a few videos of herself and a friend dancing to Latin music on Monday, much to the amusement of Twitter.
The consensus seemed to be that Kylie Jenner cannot do the merengue. Or the salsa. (Internet commenters are divided on which dance, exactly, she tried and failed to perform. Just so we’re clear, though, merengue refers to a style of music with a specific rhythm. The dance that accompanies this music is less than strictly defined.)
One relatively caustic commenter wrote:
Watching Kylie Jenner attempt to salsa dance has improved my self-confidence no end. I may not have a lipkit line but I have rhythm bitch.
— Ross (@7arambae) April 25, 2017
Way harsh. In the video itself, Jenner dances to “Suavemente” by Elvis Crespo, giggling all the while. At one point, an unidentified person off-camera congratulates Jenner for her moves.
“This is good! Yes!” the person says while Jenner sways with her partner. (Is it the merengue? Up for debate.) Jenner later switches to just swaying her hips back and forth.
“It’s like belly dancing!” she exclaims in the video. It’s clear from the clips that Jenner is just goofing off with friends. When her other friends dance more expertly, she groans, “I hate you guys.”
Twitter, always up for a good roast, immediately took to scoring the celebrity’s dancing skills.
Kylie Jenner trying to dance salsa on snapchat was honestly 1 of the worst things I've ever watched…& I watched the presidential debates
— Glanny Lozano (@glanny_lozano) April 26, 2017
Kylie Jenner "dancing" salsa on her sc story made me want to throw up
— SAMMY (@saammorann) April 25, 2017
Kylie Jenner dancing salsa in her snaps and speaking Spanish is hilarious. Nice try but you'll never be Latina baby girl
— Jocelyn Ruiz (@JoceeeR) April 25, 2017
In the same Snapchat story, Jenner sings Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito (Remix)” which features Daddy Yankee and American treasure Justin Bieber. The song, which was YouTube’s biggest music release of 2017 according to Billboard, features the Canadian pop star singing in Spanish. That was a first for Bieber, and it seems to have gone over well. Kylie singing along and dancing to the track, not so much. (At least, she’s not breaking any YouTube records.) But don’t worry, Kylie, you’re only 19. You’ve got time.
by R.A. Farley