While attending the Ambani wedding in India, the Kardashian sisters seemed to be all about the aesthetic.

Kim and Khloé Kardashian just added Mumbai to the list of cities they’ve taken over. The reality TV stars arrived in India on July 12 to celebrate the culmination of the months-long Ambani wedding, joining celebs like Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra, and politicians like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These big names gathered to celebrate the nuptials of Anant Ambani, the son of one of India’s wealthiest entrepreneurs, and Radhika Merchant. ICYMI, it was big, it was opulent and more than anything, it was expensive — like $600 million or so expensive.

As with anything the Kardashians do, there were thoughts and opinions about the sisters being there, with people questioning the Calabasas sisters’ connection to the famous Ambani family. And for once, I was ready to defend the Kardashians. While their trip was filled with the regular trappings of a Kardashian vacay including OTT fashion and lots of social media photos, there were some positives. Throughout the three-day wedding celebration, Kim and Khloé chose to wear South Asian designers, donning intricately embroidered and bejewelled sarees from Indian talent Manish Malhotra, who also served as creative director for the wedding.

While the designer is a big name in the country, there’s no denying that having members of a family as famous as the Kardashians wear their clothes will open people’s eyes, and wallets, to the beauty of South Asian design.

In addition to this, after the wedding weekend ended, the sisters visited a temple to help feed underprivileged children with motivational speaker Jay Shetty and his wife Radhi Devlukia. In a July 15 post to her Instagram, Kim shared photos of the visit, writing: “Thank you @jayshetty and @radhidevlukia for this beautiful experience at the temple and having the opportunity to visit these small souls ✨ I’m forever grateful.”

It was a sweet gesture, especially against the backdrop of an event that highlighted the economic inequality in the country, and felt like an acknowledgment of the culture outside of the one per cent. But, these moments were ultimately overshadowed by some of the sisters’ other moves over the course of the weekend, in particular Kim’s decision to wear red to a wedding event and post photos of herself donning a tika. Once again, the famous family just can’t resist centering themselves, and in doing so, they missed the mark.

Why were Kim and Khloé Kardashian at the Ambani wedding?
If you’re scratching your head wondering why Kim and Khloé were in India in the first place, you’re definitely not alone. The reality TV family reportedly has a close relationship with the bride and groom. In one social media post, Kim was spotted holding hands with the groom’s mother, Nita Ambani, as they entered a wedding venue.

While we don’t know exactly how deep these friendly connections go, even if the Kardashians weren’t besties with the Ambanis, there’s a good chance they would have received an invite either way, because the guest list was a who’s who of famous people from across the globe. Joining the Kardashians were celebs like John Cena, Prabal Gurung, Shah Rukh Khan, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra, and politicians like India’s Prime Minister Modi and former British PM Tony Blair.

This kind of invitation is mutually beneficial for both parties; with the Kardashians getting more clout by stepping farther outside of their identities as reality TV celebrities, and the Ambanis having even more of the world looking to them and becoming familiar with their family, and by extension their family’s businesses. A celebrity-filled guest list is a win-win for billionaires.

Was it wrong for Kim Kardashian to wear red to the Ambani wedding?
The first sign that there was going to be a Kardashian kontroversy came early on in the wedding festivities when Kim attended a pre-wedding event in a saffron red lehenga from Manish Malhotra. Don’t get us wrong, the lehenga itself was stunning, and Kim look gorgeous in it, serving Jasmine captured by Jafar realness. The issue? The colour the Skims founder chose to wear.

Traditionally in South Asian culture, the colour red has been worn by brides as a symbol of new beginnings, passion and prosperity. It also signifies purity and reflects the sacred fire couples circle during the marriage ceremony. While traditions have changed over the years, with some brides opting for colours like pink or gold, red remains the standard choice, meaning that wearing red to an Indian wedding is akin to wearing white to a western one — and we all know how peeved people get over that wedding guest taboo.

It should be noted that it isn’t clear if Kim K. wore red to the actual wedding ceremony, with some reports saying she wore her lehenga instead to the baraat, a pre-wedding event. Bride Radhika Merchant herself opted for a red and gold couture look by designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. (Per Vogue, Merchant chose this combo in honour of the Gujarati tradition of panetar, in which brides wear red and white.) She wore the traditional all-red ensemble for a later ceremony.

So, if we’re giving Kimberly the benefit of the doubt, the invite *may* have called for open season on wedding guests wearing red, but still. As a guest in a new and different culture from your own, it feels a little risky to go all in on a colour widely seen as taboo, for the sake of wearing a hue you know will make your spray tan pop.

What about Kim’s tika post?
And then there was the tika. Sometime during the wedding festivities, a very dressed-down Kim took to social media to share a photo of herself, pouting at the camera, with a red tika on her forehead. For those that don’t know, a tika (sometimes known as a Bindi, Sindoor or Kumkum) is a red mark made with powder on a woman’s forehead, typically used in religious ceremonies.

The beauty and fashion brand founder captioned the photo — tagging her brands SKKN by Kim and Skims, of course — with “Blesssssss me.” And while people are free to wear whatever they want, wearing something widely regarded as a religious symbol with minimal clothing and posting it with a cheeky caption feels like a blatant disregard for the actual meaning behind said symbol and the traditions that go along with it.

So, what’s the real issue with the Kardashians at the Ambani wedding?
At the end of the day, while we appreciate the Kardashians celebrating South Asian culture, Kim’s decision to wear red and to post herself wearing a tika made it feel like her understanding of and respect for these traditions — and by extension the culture — only went so far. The optics are that Kardashian was game to play along as long as she liked the aesthetic.

What could have been a lovely opportunity for the famous family to share the beauty of Indian culture with their over 600 million combined followers and show that — despite their track record — they’re open to embracing other cultures instead of appropriating them, felt like yet another content opportunity for their empire. (The sisters were reportedly filming for their Hulu show The Kardashians while abroad.) Ultimately, these moves made the whole experience feel disingenuous, even if it wasn’t. And for a culture that is still so often overlooked, overshadowed and co-opted without credit, that kind of treatment still stings.