#BreakTheInternet trended when Paper magazine’s November 2014 cover featuring Kim Kardashian’s oiled, nude backside attempted to (and nearly did) break the internet. Photographed by Jean-Paul Goude, the cover recreated his 1976 “Champagne Incident” photo of Carolina Beaumont.
The cover line read “BREAK THE INTERNET” in bold letters above Kim balancing a champagne glass on her famous rear. An accompanying full-frontal nude shot showed Kim in a black evening gown with champagne arcing over her shoulder.
The photos went viral instantly, generating millions of shares, parodies, think pieces, and debates about objectification, empowerment, appropriation (the original photo featured a Black model), and whether Kim represented body positivity or unrealistic beauty standards (critics noted heavy retouching).
Celebrities recreated the pose. Memes flooded social media. The stunt worked—Paper’s website crashed from traffic. The issue became the magazine’s best-selling ever.
The shoot cemented Kim’s status as a cultural force who could command attention through strategic deployment of her image—whether or not you found it empowering or exploitative.
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