I know why Rob Kardashian deleted all his Instagram pictures this week. Actually, no, I don’t — but I have a theory!
A recap, if you need one: The first sentence is a thing that happened this week and requires little more context. The remaining detail is that said pictures included his fiancée, Blac Chyna (soon to be Angela Kardashian, god bless), and their deletion could indicate that there is strife between reality television’s next greatest couple.
Kardashian has mass-deleted his photos before, usually because he was upset with something. There is a decent chance that his recent Instagram purge means he and Blac Chyna are over; it could also just mean they had a fight. (It’s also worth noting Chyna appears to have deleted many of her photos, too — the most recent, aside from a promo video posted Wednesday morning, is from two weeks ago.) There’s a very real (most real, so real) possibility that grand puppet master Kris Jenner is behind all this and that the plot point will manifest itself on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. (Or that photos were deleted in order to keep some timeline or detail from the public before the remaining episodes of the season air. I digress.)
Those are rather boring hypotheticals, though, and I have a far less likely, far more complicated theory: This has to do with an app.
If you follow Kardashian (comma Rob) and Chyna on Instagram, you also enjoy how they simultaneously post Insta-promotion posts for the same handful of products. Those products include a fitness app with a very strange video (below), some clothing company, aaaaaaand an app that helps you spy on your significant other to make sure they aren’t texting someone else who is not you.
(A note: If you go through Chyna’s Instagram to try and find these, you won’t! It appears she Instas and deletes. Also, Amber Rose also promotes the spy app, and it is scammy, don’t download it!)
So: My (probably-wrong-but-oh-my-god-oh-my-god-what-if-it’s-right) inkling is that in an episode of Rob & Chyna, the couple’s upcoming reality show, which I anticipate saving up and watching from my bed as a hangover comfort/cure on some indeterminate future Sunday, we will witness a new level of cross-promotion. According to E!’s take on the alleged fight between Kardashian and Chyna, her trust issues are at least part of the reason for the deleted Instagrams. Meanwhile, Hollywood Life says Kardashian is threatened by Chyna texting other men. She’s been promoting the spy app for awhile, but it’s popped up in his (now empty) feed since they got together. Twist! It could be either Rob or Chyna who uses the app to discover some shady text messages on the other’s phone.
The actual promotion will be subtle. In a confessional video, Kardashian/Chyna will break it down for viewers, explaining that Kardashian/Chyna has been on his/her phone a lot, taking calls in another room, changing the password, etc. Cut to a scene of Kardashian/Chyna texting in a corner; then there’s some snooping around on Kardashian’s/Chyna’s part. Back to the confessional. He/she explains that there’s this app, you know, where you can just see who your betrothed is talking to. Cut to a shot of Kardashian’s/Chyna’s hands, on a phone, clicking through the app. Boom. Now that is an endorsement. That’s worth, like, 300 posted-and-deleted celebrity Instagram promos.
Why would the couple go through such an involved scheme? They are masters of manipulation, for one, and by all accounts appear to absolutely love controlling the narrative of their story. They are the least manageable players of the Kardashian empire, which is so typically, tightly controlled. This sort of stunt is very Keeping Up With the Kardashians Season 1 — back when Kim lived in that very normal condo, and there was a least a pretense that members of the family had jobs. This wouldn’t be sanctioned by current-day KUWTK standards. But this is not that show, and maybe, just maybe, Rob & Chyna will include incredibly grasping storylines that are also paid-for app promotions.
