Mia Khalifa's Jewelry Line Ain't Controversial, So What's With the Outrage?
Every celebrity is also a brand now, that's just common knowledge. Mia Khalifa's new jewelry line, Sheytan, follows this well-trod path but has kicked up an almost comical amount of backlash because, even though Sheytan isn't controversial, anything Mia Khalifa will inevitably be controversial.
When Highsnobiety posted about Khalifa's new label on Instagram, for instance, over 600 mostly-vitriolic and extremely hyperbolic comments poured in.
"I hope this is a failed business venture," one user groused. "This world is finished," another moaned. Even Kim Kardashian's infamous "Kimono" flap didn't draw this level of hate. So why an inoffensive jewelry line?
It all has to do with public perception of Mia Khalifa, born Sarah Joe Chamoun.
In the early 2010s, Khalifa attracted international attention for a short-lived career as a porn actress that ended by 2016, drawing as much public adoration as it did lingering outrage. No surprise that porn is publicly divisive but it's hard to give a real reason for Khalifa, who hasn't engaged with the adult entertainment industry in nearly a decade, to remain a lightning rod.
This is the crux of everything, really — the Mia Khalifa phenomenon is merely another chapter in the big book of women whose openness about sexuality made them cultural pariahs among reactionaries. We saw this with the cultural firestorm levied upon Pamela Anderson in the '90s and Kim Kardashian in the aughts, for instance, which each yielded different responses.
Both Anderson and Kardashian faced overwhelming waves of sexist backlash as a result of leaked sex tapes that showed them — gasp — having sex with a consenting partner. As a result, the women who appeared in the videos were demonized while the men were lionized, slut-shaming 101.
Whereas Anderson's career was essentially halted as a result of the leak and ensuing public derision — explored at length in her recent Netflix documentary, Pamela, a Love Story — Kardashian embraced the chaos and became an overnight phenom-turned-entrepreneur.
Kardashian's trajectory epitomizes a model followed by several other young women influencers in subsequent years: levying sexuality into a profitable enterprise.
Twitch streamer Belle Delphine, for instance, made international headlines in 2019 by selling (and selling out of) bottled bath water. Julia Fox's provocative outfits made her 2022's most omnipresent street style star.
Though Sheytan itself isn't anything controversial, Mia Khalifa's place in the public sector is founded on similar lines and, as such, there's a lingering, sex-negative controversy inextricable from Mia Khalifa's name. It ain't fair that our slut-shaming society refuses to move on from the past and it ain't Khalifa's fault but, to her credit, she's tapped into the transformative properties of controversy to build her own imprint.
In recent months, Khalifa has become a bonafide celebrity of sorts, sitting front-row at fashion shows in Paris (including Pharrell's first Louis Vuitton show), modeling for Marc Jacobs' Heaven, and creating a weed strain with her namesake rapper.
A Mia Khalifa brand was inevitable.
Sheytan actually launched in 2022, a joint effort between creative director Khalifa and designer Sara Burn, whose resume includes YEEZY (two years as senior womenswear designer) and buzzy lingerie label Agent Provocateur (three years as design lead).
The concise debut collection, sold directly through the Sheytan website, includes both low-cost jewelry ($80 for a British-made gold-plated necklace) and more expensive statement bits for pre-order ($600 for a gold body-wrapping chain topped with a diamond).
Nothing surprising there: it's typical for industry talent to quietly oversee the technical side of celebrity-driven brands: FRAME co-founder Jens Grede, for instance, is the quiet mastermind behind Kardashian's SKIMS.
Sheytan's success isn't predicated on Khalifa's infamy but the newfound marketability of her name likely helped its most affordable jewelry sell out within 24 hours. It helps that loads of folks online already know Khalifa's name — that kinda cultural reach typically costs companies a multimillion-dollar marketing budget. Meanwhile, Khalifa's every move is magnified by supporters and haters alike, which inevitably turns into dollar signs.
Puritanical pearl-clutchers can keep crying in comment sections but Khalifa's just gonna keep winning.
