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‘I did the best I could’: Illustrator behind THOSE Kardashian courtroom sketches defends her art after ruthless roastingAlistair McGeorge
Fans weren’t kind about the sketches (Picture: Mona Shafer Edwards / Backgrid)
A courtroom artist has defended her drawings of the Kardashians after they were ruthlessly mocked by fans and insisted she was sat at the ‘back of the courtroom’.
Everyone’s a critic, even when it comes to a court of law, and Mona Shafer Edwards has learned that no one’s above some scathing commentary on social media.
Going viral might be most artist’s goal, but the LA-based illustrator found her work under a barrage of criticism after she sat in during the ongoing Blac Chyna trial.
The star filed a lawsuit against the famous family over the axing of her E! reality series with ex-fiancé Rob Kardashian, Rob & Chyna, which lasted for one season, and Kris Jenner has been joined by daughters Kylie, Khloe and Kim Kardashian.
Edwards’ courtroom sketches were roasted on social media with some people claiming her depictions ‘look like villains from a children’s book’, and now she’s responded.
‘I do the best work I can’, she told DailyMail.com, while noting she was sat at the ‘back of the courtroom’ and ‘didn’t have much of a view’.
Khloe, Kim, Kylie and Kris were sketched in court (Picture: Bill Robles via AP)
Fans aren’t convinced the artist nailed the likeness for Kris, Kylie, Khloe and the rest (Picture: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
She claimed her critics – many of whom called her portrayal of the women ‘brutal’ and ‘ugly’ – have a ‘skewed vision’ of what her job actually is, and ‘don’t know what courtroom art is about’.
Explaining how she’s been ‘doing this a very long time’, the artist – who has to use a pen rather than pencil – pointed out she has to be ‘very fast’ with her sketches and needs a ‘photographic memory’.
She added: ‘[I’m] proud of what I do.’
She’s drawn plenty of ‘very high profile’ celebrities in court – including the likes of Michael Jackson, Lindsay Lohan, OJ Simpson and Kim herself during her 2013 divorce from Kris Humphries – and she tries not to ‘look at the comments’.
In this drawing, Kim is standing with attorney Michael Rhodes (Picture: Bill Robles via AP)
Some fans joked Kim might sue over the sketches (Picture: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Edwards admitted she couldn’t really avoid the reaction this time, with one person even joking that Kim would ‘sue the hell out of this court room sketch artist’.
She also shrugged off the idea she has picked sides in the ongoing case, noting she ‘always’ strives to be ‘very objective’, although she admitted to having a connection to the family as her kids went to the same school as Jendall and Kylie Jenner.
However, despite ‘knowing of them’ she insisted there’s no personal relationship there, and she’s never seen their reality shows.
Blac Chyna has appeared in court during her trial against the Kardashians (Picture: Bill Robles via AP)
She is suing the family for £83 million in damages (Picture: David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
It should be noted, she’s got a wealth of experience not just as a courtroom illustrator, but also as an artist as a whole, having co-written eight children’s books and carried out artwork for major department stores and manufacturers.
She previously completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honnors at the Art Center College of Design, and teaches classes herself at UCLA and Trade-Tech, LA.
Chyna has taken legal action against the Kardashians over the decision to cancel her reality show with ex Rob Kardashian.
The series was greenlit in 2016 and aired that same year, focusing on the couple as they prepared to welcome their first child together, daughter Dream, with the pair splitting soon after.
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It was taken off air after one series, after which Chyna alleged that the family – specifically Kim, Khloe and Kris and Kylie – were responsible for the axe.
According to court documents obtained by Mail Online, she is suing them for $108million (£83m) in damages – $44million (£33m) for ‘past economic damage’ and $64million (£49m) for ‘future economic damage’.
Rob’s attorney has maintained their tumultuous break-up is what caused the show to end, but the mom-of-two insisted that his family were behind the decision – allegations that they have denied.
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MORE : Blac Chyna ‘threatened to kill Kylie Jenner’, Kris Jenner claims in $100,000,000 lawsuit
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