Wheelchair user re-creates Kylie Jenner Interview photoshoot amid 'Ableism' controversy

‘I can barely get people to make eye contact with me, let alone land a cover shoot’

Jenner was featured in a shoot paying homage to British artist Allen Jones (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

A wheelchair user has re-created Kylie Jenner’s Interview photoshoot which has been criticised for being "ableist".

Shot by Steven Klein, the 18-year-old reality TV personality appears on the cover of Interview magazine in a wheelchair with gold frames while wearing latex.

Since the cover was revealed, it has been criticised on social media for using disability as a fashion statement and encouraging ableism — the discrimination in favour of able-bodied people over those with physical disabilities.

According to Mic, 24-year-old Erin Tatum altered her hair and clothes to replicate Jenner’s appearance and used her own actual wheelchair to draw attention to the issue.

Posting on Tumblr, she explains she tried to create a more “authentic” version of the shoot,“given that I’m, you know, actually disabled and a real life wheelchair user.

“I can barely get people to make eye contact with me, let alone land a cover shoot.

“If being in a wheelchair is trendy now, I’ve apparently been a trendsetter since before Kylie was born.”

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The shots were part of a homage to Allen Jones, the 1960s pop artist famed for his controversial sculptures of women in submissive positions, often appearing doll-like.

The magazine defended the shoot saying: “At Interview, we are proud of our tradition of working with great artists and empowering them to realise their distinct and often bold visions.

“The Kylie Jenner cover… is a part of this tradition, placing Kylie in a variety of positions of power and control and exploring her image as an object of vast media scrutiny… the feature aims to unpack Kylie’s status as both engineer of her image and object of attention.”

But the disability rights charity, Scope, told The Independent this week having a non-disabled person in a wheelchair “will offend many disabled people”.

“If we’re going to challenge assumptions about disability, particularly about sex and disability, we need to share real-life depictions and experiences.”