Kim Kardashian knows when to fake it.
The Skims founder, 45, came clean on Wednesday about the controversial elephant skin Birkin bag that sparked outrage in November, revealing that the rare Hermès accessory was actually just a prop.
“If you look closely…the hardware is upside down…it looks like a complete fake of the real thing,” Kardashian said on her sister Khloé Kardashian’s podcast, Khloe in Wonderland.
The reality star-turned-actress faced immediate backlash after she was photographed carrying what appeared to be an ultra-rare elephant skin Birkin, both on the set of Hulu’s legal drama “All’s Fair” and in behind-the-scenes photos shared by stylist Soki Mack.
The bag was featured in a scene where Kardashian’s character Alura Grant wore an all-gray outfit, but the fake Birkin was chosen simply because it matched her ensemble.
“I was wearing gray clothes, and it was gray,” she said matter-of-factly.
But true or not, Kardashian admitted that her wardrobe choices were a mistake.
“I was so frustrated with myself, and the message was, like… the elephant Birkin was okay,” she shared. “People didn’t know if it was real or fake…so I wish they could have been a little smarter and made better choices just to put it out there.”
Model and actress Ireland Baldwin, 30, was one of the most vocal critics in November, posting on Instagram: “This is so disgusting and shameful. I don’t understand why these people are being supported in this way.”
According to PETA, Hermès has never sold elephant leather bags commercially, but in the 1980s it created a limited edition series using the skins of elephants supposedly shot on safari. These ultra-rare Birkins can fetch up to $125,000 or more on the resale market.
Kardashian told Khloe, 41, “I don’t blame that story or the outrageousness of that story. I really don’t.”
When asked why she remained silent for two months, Kardashian said she felt “overwhelmed” by the criticism of “All’s Fair” at the time.
“I’m a big believer in tackling things head-on and quickly,” she explains, referring to the time she quickly changed the name of her shapewear brand from Kimono to Skims. “Sometimes I think I’m not going to pay attention to it because I can’t sit there all day and shut everything down…It depends on my mood.”
One person who contacted her informally was Ellen DeGeneres, a close friend of Kim’s and a well-known animal rights activist.
Kardashian credits DeGeneres with convincing her to switch to faux fur, but we reached out to her privately about the controversy.
“She wrote me a letter and was like, ‘Hey, I’ve seen this story about Birkin the Elephant, what is this?'” Kardashian recalled. “That’s why Ellen’s approach was so great… She really took the time to tell me certain things.”
The mother of four brought a number of her own Birkins to the “Old’s Fair” set as wardrobe options, but explained that producers also purchased additional bags, including a faux elephant version, to keep on hand for her styling needs.
“I brought a lot of bags as accessories for ‘Old’s Fair,’ and after that I brought a lot of other bags and kept them on set. When I needed them for a particular outfit, they were there and I could grab them right away,” she said.
Kardashian owns a variety of Birkin bags. In 2024, she listed a peacock blue Porosus crocodile Birkin on the Kardashian Closet resale site for $49,995, and in October revealed she had “turned into a monster” after fighting with her mother Kris Jenner over an ultra-rare vintage Birkin shoulder bag designed by Jean Paul Gaultier.
