A number of fans are still reeling from the death of Steve Harwell, the beloved frontman of the rock band Smash Mouth. Harwell passed away almost a week ago and, in the aftermath, many have been paying homage to him and his contributions to music. Some celebrities have shared their tributes as well, with many doing so on social media. Kim Kardashian seemed to honor the singer with a gold bikini post that references one of the band’s hit singles. There were people who took issue with the message, yet the group itself reposted her photo and defended its decision to do so.
Days after the singer’s death, Kim Kardashian took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share two photos of her golden swimwear ensemble. She simply captioned the post, “All that glitters is gold,” which is a lyric from Smash Mouth’s 1999 hit “All Star.” While some users seemed to be dazzled by the photos, others were less than impressed. Many detractors on Instagram, where Kardashian also shared the photo, had particularly blunt responses. One commentator even said, “Someone dies and you use their lyrics to post a thirst trap.”
But the band seemed to have no problem with the post, based on the fact that its official account reposted the starlet’s photos on X. Its caption also played on the lyric by adding, “only shooting stars.” The account also reacted to a user who commented on the backlash. Said person opined that “people saying "too soon" really didn't knew steve and it shows,” and the group’s account replied, saying “exactly.” You can see the SKIMS founder’s photos on Instagram down below:
So it would seem that Smash Mouth doesn’t find Kim Kardashian’s post disrespectful. If anything, it seems the band believes Steve Harwell himself wouldn’t have taken issue with it. One could argue that a bikini pic may not be the first form of tribute most would think of after a person’s death. Though I suppose people do choose their own ways to pay homage, and Kardashian’s method is clearly SM-approved.
To be quite honest, this post is very on-brand for the media mogul and socialite. She’s been regularly posting swimsuit photos for quite some time and does so to mark a myriad of occasions. Whether she’s celebrating a milestone birthday or newly acquired billionaire status, she has no qualms about dropping bikini snapshots. With that, users could be upset, because they believed she referenced the band and its late singer to drum up buzz for one of her latest posts. That’s all conjecture, of course and, again, the message did get an eventual thumbs up from the late performer’s former bandmates.
Steve Harwell was in hospice care ahead of his passing, as he’d been contending with liver failure before sadly succumbing to the condition at the age of 56. It was subsequently reported that his Smash Mouth cohorts were unable to say goodbye, as personal visits were limited to family and a handful of others. Ultimately, his colleagues respected his wishes and, per reports, Harwell was on good terms with them by the time he died.
The singer certainly leaves behind a serious legacy and, as time goes on, he’ll surely be remembered by Smash Mouth and its army of fans. All the while, it’s also pretty much a certainty that Kim Kardashian will continue to post bikini photos in an “all star” sort of way.
