Blac Chyna‘s mom is lashing out at news organizations like CNN and Hollywood Life for asking for a comment on a news item, but to understand why she’s doing it and why journalists ask for comment on sensitive stories, we need to start from the beginning.

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Kris Jenner is a marketing genius, which pretty much everyone can agree on. Whether you love or hate the Kardashians, you have Jenner to thank for their rise and ubiquity.

Through circumstances beyond her control, Jenner has now had to welcome the — get ready, we can do this together — mother of her daughter’s boyfriend’s child into the family because her son, Rob Kardashian, decided to date her, get engaged to her, and have a kid with her.

Okay, let’s explain. Blac Chyna is a model and entrepreneur who was dating rapper Tyga before he left her with their child to be with Kylie Jenner. Chyna waited a while, then started dating Kylie’s older half-brother, Rob. (There’s no point in using last names

to be formal here; it’s confusing.) Being a PR genius, Kris Jenner took it all in stride and now the couple has their own reality show. That’s what she does. That’s how this works. They’re all public figures.

Chyna’s mom Tokyo Toni, though, is no Kris Jenner. In fact, the two have long-standing beef between them that stemmed from Toni publicly lashing out at the momager (with no filter!) repeatedly. It was awkward enough that they now share a grandchild — indeed, the only grandchild with the last name of Kardashian — but it’s likely going to get much more awkward now.

See, a new report came out this morning indicating that Rob was hospitalized for a diabetes flare-up. That’s a bummer for the family, but for the news industry, it’s just news. A few journalists, like CNN’s Chloe Melas and Hollywood Life‘s Lauren Cox reached out for comment. That’s what reporters do. Whether it’s to find out something about a politician’s platform or a celebrity’s health scare, reaching out for comment is just the performance of due diligence. It’s J-school 101.

Kris Jenner knows that. Tokyo Toni does not. She lashed out at Melas and Cox on Instagram before privatizing her posts. Note that in previous updates on Instagram, she expressed anger that Vh1 and other

outlets had posted what she claimed to be a false story about her failing to raise money for charity.

In the email response to Cox captured in her screengrab, she appeared to write, “Go kiss my ass,” and call reporters “imbreds.” It isn’t clear how she responded to Melas, though she did caption her screenshot of the email from CNN with, “I MIND MY DAMN BUSINESS,” and, “You want me to give you info?! Ohhhh hell to the Nah!!”

In contrast, it is known throughout the industry that Kris Jenner always responds cordially and quickly to emails. Often, it is indicated that the reply has come directly from her phone.

While it is an unfortunate subject to pursue, she understands that the news, no matter what it reports on, must ask questions to bring accurate information to interested parties. She also understands that lashing out at the reporters doing their jobs will make the story into something else entirely, and that something is not positive.

Without reaching out for comment, a blog can still post an article, but it is one that will be all speculation and aggregation. Asking for comment may seem intrusive, but it is a journalist’s way of offering a chance for self-representation to someone who will be written about either way. Asking for comment is how inflammatory articles (like the Vh1 post that made her upset a few hours ago) get curbed.

That being said, we have reached out to Tokyo Toni for comment on the privatization of her Instagram. We will update if we hear anything back.

UPDATE — 2:33 p.m. EST:

Tokyo Toni has responded to Mediaite’s request for comment on the privatization of her Instagram account:

And there you have it.

[image: screengrab]

Lindsey: Twitter. Facebook.

Tags: Blac Chyna, journalism