When Kim Kardashian Was Slammed for 'Illegal Advertisement' of a Drug on Instagram

Once Kim Kardashian found herself in hot water over a seemingly innocent Instagram post. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took issue with a photo she shared, featuring her holding a bottle of Diclegis, a prescription anti-nausea medication. In the caption, Kardashian detailed her struggles with morning sickness during her pregnancy and praised the drug for its effectiveness. However, what caught the FDA's attention was the lack of disclosure regarding her partnership with Duchesnay, the pharmaceutical company behind Diclegis, as per The Atlantic.

Although the photo of Kardashian with the morning sickness medication Diclegis and the caption highlighting the treatment's advantages received more than 450,000 "likes" on Instagram, the manufacturer of the drug received an official warning letter from the FDA. A portion of the letter stated, "The social media post is misleading because it presents various efficacy claims for Diclegis, but fails to communicate any risk information." Kardashian, who received payment to endorse the drug, initially said it made her feel "a lot better, and most importantly, it's been studied and there was no increased risk to the baby." The drug's manufacturer, Duchesnay, informed CNBC that although Kardashian was compensated to endorse the medication, she independently discovered it through her family's OB-GYN. The corporation promised to reply to the FDA's letter immediately.

Kardashian and the company faced heavy criticism on Reddit. One person remarked, "Wait, this trash bag of a person did something unethical for money? Nooooo." Another commented, "I bet the guys who did this must really be regretting it as they waste away in their jail cells. Right? RIGHT?" Yet another added, "Diclegis makes me laugh every time I see an Rx for it. You could pay over a dollar per tablet for it (it does have a cute little imprint of a pregnant mommy on the tab) or you could walk to the OTC aisle and buy 60-count bottles of the same ingredients for under $5. It helps with nausea by sedating you, thanks to doxylamine, the same ingredient in the sleep aid Unisom. They just combined it with pyridoxine (aka vitamin B-6) to theoretically make it less fatiguing." Additionally, another person expressed, "I don't see why pharmaceutical companies are allowed to advertise prescription medications to consumers anyways. If you need your prescription there's a whole network of trained docs and pharmacists who should determine that."

"Duchesnay USA takes its regulatory responsibilities very seriously, and acknowledges that its communications, including in social media as in this particular instance, need to be by applicable rules and regulations," the company stated. Additionally, Duchesnay was asked to provide corrections to the claims made "using the same media" for the same audience in the FDA warning letter.