'Billboard' apologizes for North West tweet

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

The phrase seems innocuous enough but, without proper context, it can read in ways the writer didn't intend – as Billboard discovered.

Yesterday, the magazine tweeted the expression alongside a picture of 2-year-old North West licking a lollipop. The linked article describes a viral video in which North's nanny leads her past a throng of paparazzi – to which she murmurs, "I said, 'No pictures.'"

Billboard's tweet was attempting to draw comparisons between North's disregarded request for privacy and Kanye West's documented disdain for the paparazzi. But as a standalone post, the tweet seemed like targeted criticism of Kim Kardashian.

Billboard quickly deleted the tweet and replaced it with a new one: "North West is already pretty sassy (but in a cute way)."

The magazine also posted the following apology: "We apologize for the tweet involving North West. The caption was about her comments to paparazzi. The suggestion some see was not intended."

But the damage was already done. Social media users remained unmoved, questioning the sincerity of the apology and highlighting the publication's ostensible failure to acknowledge North's call for boundaries as valid.