Kim Kardashian defiantly shows off daughter North West dressed as Simba in The Lion King musical – amid backlash over ‘nepo baby’ casting row

Kim Kardashian is not letting the backlash over of her daughter North West’s acting debut during The Lion King’s 30th Anniversary concert at The Hollywood Bowl get to her.

Despite online trolls lashing out at the ten-year-old’s casting as Young Simba, the 43-year-old continued to share behind-the-scenes pictures of her little girl in costume from the show.

The latest images, uploaded on Tuesday morning, showed North, dressed as a lion cub in front of a grey backdrop.

The oversized yellow hoodie, slippers and robe, designed by ERL, that North wore during the performance were confirmed to have been provided by her team ‘not by the production’ to People.

Despite receiving a standing ovation from the audience after singing I Just Can’t Wait To Be King, the eldest child of Kardashian and her ex-husband Kanye West was accused of getting the part due to her ‘nepo-baby advantage.’

Kim Kardashian is not letting the backlash over of her daughter North West’s acting debut during The Lion King’s 30th Anniversary concert at The Hollywood Bowl get to her

Her post comes just hours after insiders familiar with the project have revealed the truth about North’s casting to DailyMail.com.

According to sources, the young star didn’t have to ‘compete against anyone else’ for the part, which came as a result of her family’s ties with the production company behind the event, which was held at the Hollywood Bowl last Friday.

A source has since told DailyMail.com that the Kardashian family’s close connection to the producers of the event played a large part in North’s appearance.

‘The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl and The Kardashians are both produced by the same production company, Fulwell 73 Productions,’ the insider dished.

‘Gabe Turner, who is a partner in Fulwell, is also the creative showrunner for The Lion King.’

The source continued: ‘This was a shoe in for North and she was told that if she can carry a note the gig is hers.’

Fulwell 73 is the production company behind shows including The Kardashians and The Late Late Show With James Corden.

Turner is a partner alongside James Corden, while the former worked alongside Sally Wood as the creative showrunner for The Lion King concert.

Despite online trolls lashing out at the ten-year-old’s casting as Young Simba, the 43-year-old continued to share behind-the-scenes pictures of her little girl in costume from the show

The latest images, uploaded on Tuesday morning, showed North, dressed as a lion cub in front of a grey backdrop

The latest images, uploaded on Tuesday morning, showed North, dressed as a lion cub in front of a grey backdrop

Despite receiving a standing ovation from the audience after singing I Just Can’t Wait To Be King, the eldest child of Kardashian and her ex-husband Kanye West was accused of getting the part due to her ‘nepo-baby advantage’

The insider added that North’s ability to make headlines for her performances was a key factor behind the decision to cast her for the role.

‘They were hoping to draw publicity for this, which they did,’ the source continued. ‘But North didn’t have to compete against anyone else and anyone else who would have auditioned would have not gotten it anyways.’

The source stated: ‘This is 100 per cent the result of her family’s relationship with Disney and with Fulwell.’

Another insider dished that the family planned to feature the moment in upcoming episode of their reality show, seemingly making the performance a win for everyone involved.

‘The promise of the moment being shown on the show and to go and be seen everywhere was also a major selling point for having North a part of the festivities,’ the source stated.

‘Like everything the Kardashians do, this was well documented and planned. They have to keep the brand somehow.’

Her post comes just hours after insiders familiar with the project have revealed the truth about North’s casting to DailyMail.com (North seen on stage last week)

According to sources, the young star didn’t have to ‘compete against anyone else’ for the part, which came as a result of her family’s ties with the production company behind the event, which was held at the Hollywood Bowl last Friday

‘The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl and The Kardashians are both produced by the same production company, Fulwell 73 Productions,’ the insider dished

Following North’s performance, a number of social media users on X shared their thoughts on the rising star snagging a coveted role in the musical concert.

One noted: ‘Nepotism is literally the best thing to be born with,’ while another added, ‘The worst case of nepo I have witnessed.’

Another penned, ‘Nepotism and the synonym next to it is KARDASHIANS,’ followed by laughing face emojis.

‘Nepotism is so crazy lol,’ one wrote. ‘Someone else’s more talented, probably voice and dance trained kid didn’t get it because his/her family isn’t famous enough.’

One social media user penned, ‘She looks great and it seems like she’s having a lot of fun, but I’m definitely not gonna bypass the fact that we all know she wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t who her parents were. This is classism at its finest!’

Kardashian also shared photos of her little girl with Jennifer Hudson, who was also in the show

Additionally, the proud mom shared behind-the-scenes snaps of North before going out on stage

‘Proudest moment ever,’ the mother-of-four captioned a shot of North’s performer pass

Another chimed: ‘Aw man…I feel bad for the kids there that are actually talented who could’ve nailed this.

‘I’m sure her mom’s influence (or money) is the only reason she got this leading/singing role.’

One also shared, ‘I don’t like that fact that she got this solely based on her mom or dad.

‘There’s a kid out there with real talent that should’ve been given this opportunity. And no I’m not a hater I actually like the “Kardashians.”‘

It’s unclear if North went through a standard audition process. DailyMail.com has reached out to a Kardashian spokesperson for comment.

Earlier this month, it was announced that North was cast in the live-to-film concert event which ran for two nights on May 24 and May 25. The Hollywood Bowl can notably hold up to 17,500 people and tickets for the concert began at $60.

North joined other stars on the stage, such as Jennifer Hudson, Billy Eichner, Bradley Gibson, Ernie Sabella, Jason Weaver, Jeremy Irons and also Nathan Lane.

Kanye West was in attendance at the concert to support his daughter, as well as Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian and her husband Travis Barker.

Kim cheered on North from backstage, sharing photos to her Instagram Stories from North’s dressing room.