Celebrities voiced support for Khloé Kardashian as she showed her stomach on Instagram Live amid her bikini-photo controversy

• Khloé Kardashian responded on Instagram Live to the controversy about an unauthorized bikini photo.
• She lifted her jumper and showed her torso from different angles.
• Celebrity friends and family commented on her Instagram post in support.

Celebrities are coming out to support Khloé Kardashian.

Kardashian has faced support and criticism following the news that her team was attempting to remove an unauthorized photo of her in a bikini that it said had been posted online by accident. The image, which appears free of airbrushing or editing, was shared on a popular Reddit thread, on Twitter, and on various Instagram accounts.

It generated much conversation and comparison with the polished shots Kardashian usually uploads. Critics of Kardashian have said she should not try to remove an image that depicts her body in a more realistic way.

She responded on Wednesday night by appearing on an "unretouched and unfiltered" livestream on Instagram, which she posted along with a statement about her body-image struggles.

In the video, Kardashian lifted up her sweater and showed her torso from different angles.

Celebrity friends and family members wrote messages of encouragement in the comments.

"I love you Khloe," her sister Kim Kardashian West said. Her younger sister Kylie Jenner said, "love you soooo much."

"Yes!" Kendall Jenner responded. "You beautiful, strong, HEALTHY queen."

Ariana Grande wrote, "love u & your heart," and Kardashian's friend Olivia Pierson, a reality-TV personality, said she was beautiful "inside and out."

Many other celebrities and influencers sent moral support, including the reality-TV stars Chrishell Stause from "Selling Sunset" and Stassi Schroeder Clark from "Vanderpump Rules." But the longest, most heartfelt message came from Kardashian's mother, Kris Jenner.

"Khloé you are the kindest most loving, most supportive, most beautiful heart I have ever known, and I adore you and am so proud of you," she wrote. "You are an inspiration to all of us and I appreciate and love you each and every single day. Thank you for teaching the rest of us to be kind and to not judge.... you are one of a kind.... what a blessing you are. You are a gift."

The post addressed Kardashian's reasons for wanting the unauthorized photo removed

The unauthorized photo was taken down in many places following threats of legal action from Kardashian's representatives, Page Six reported on Monday.

"Khloé looks beautiful but it is within the right of the copyright owner to not want an image not intended to be published taken down," Tracy Romulus, the chief marketing officer for KKW Brands, told Page Six.

Kardashian echoed this in her Instagram post, saying that she also thought the original photo was beautiful but that she did not want it to be shared.

"As someone who has struggled with body image her whole life, when someone takes a photo of you that isn't flattering in bad lighting or doesn't capture your body the way it is after working so hard to get it to this point - and then shares it to the world - you should have every right to ask for it to not be shared - regardless of who you are," she said. "In truth, the pressure, constant ridicule and judgment my entire life to be perfect and to meet other's standards of how I should look has been too much to bear."

She referred to some of the hurtful comments she had received and added that every one of her flaws had been "micro-analyzed" and made fun of over the past decade. She said she wanted to be treated as a human, despite her perceived privilege.

"I am not perfect but I promise you that I try everyday to live my life as honestly as possible and with empathy and kindness," she said, adding, "It's almost unbearable trying to live up to the impossible standards that the public have all set for me."

Along with support came criticism of photo editing

Along with the thousands of messages empathizing with Kardashian were criticisms of and comments about the ugly side of photo editing on social media.

Kardashian, along with her family, has received backlash many times in the past for posting highly edited pictures that some people argue don't reflect reality. Mental-health professionals have concerns that normalizing an unattainable standard of beauty with the proliferation of photo-editing apps like FaceTune may be detrimental to mental health, warping the body image and self-esteem of a whole generation of young women.

The actor and activist Jameela Jamil shared Kardashian's post on Twitter and expressed sympathy over the body-shaming Kardashian had faced over the years. But she also urged Kardashian to consider her role in the creation of the culture she has found herself a victim of.

"I'm extremely sorry for what we all watched happen to you over the past decade. It's so unacceptable," Jamil said. "Now would be a great time to throw diet culture in the f--- it bucket, stop editing photos, admit to the help you get to look how you do, and be transparent with your fans."