Sheryl Lee Ralph sparks debate after shading Kardashians for ‘paying $10k’ for lips like hers

‘I said what I said,’ actress says

Sheryl Lee Ralph has divided fans after throwing shade at the Kardashians while reflecting on the message she would send to her 15-year-old self.

The Abbott Elementary star, 66, was asked about a message she has for her younger self during a red carpet interview ahead of the 80th annual Golden Globes on Tuesday.

“What would you want to tell your 15-year-old self, right now, on this carpet?” the interviewer asked the actress. In response to the question, Ralph said she’d encourage her younger self to be confident in her appearance, and remind her that there is “nothing wrong” with her nose, hair or the shade of her skin. The actress then added a reminder to her teenage self that there is nothing wrong with her lips, as “Kardashians” would “pay $10,000” for them.

“There’s nothing wrong with your nose. There is nothing wrong with the shade of your skin. There is nothing wrong with the way your hair grows out of your head. And there is certainly nothing wrong with your lips, because there will be some people called Kardashians and they will pay $10,000 for your lips,” Ralph said, before adding: “Hang in there, 15-year-old Sheryl Lee Ralph! You’re good.”

The exchange has since been viewed more than 172,000 times on Twitter, where many fans have found the advice amusing, while others have criticised the actress for the dig at the Kardashians.

“I love her for this,” one person tweeted, while another said: “She’s so real for that, love yourself for who you are.”

However, others questioned why Ralph felt the need to shade the reality family while sharing a message of self-confidence.

“Putting down the Kardashians for what? Weirdo,” one person tweeted, while someone else claimed the comment was “so unnecessary”.

Another person wrote: “Bringing other women down to make other women more confident is NOT it.”

Following the viral red carpet moment, Ralph appeared to address the criticism with a tweet, in which she acknowledged that she “said what [she] said”.

“I said what I said. Now, I’m going to bed. Goodnight!” she wrote on Tuesday night, along with a kissing face and heart emojis.