Why celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian love tongue poking
Not satisfied with a sweet peck on the lips or the cheek for the cameras, celebrity couples such as Kourtney Kardashian and her fiancé Travis Barker have taken things to new heights to prove their passion to the world.
The couple, known for their no holds barred PDAs, are regularly photographed French kissing, but closer examination of their raunchy displays reveals that their clinches are rather less spontaneous than they look.
On Monday, the couple were seen in a lustful embrace at the Met Gala, but footage of the even reveals how Travis wasn’t actually French kissing his beau, but poking his tongue in between her parted teeth.
Couples like Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox or, before they parted ways, Kanye West and model Julia Fox have also been seen showing off rather a lot of tongue in their public embraces.
And according to body language expert Judi James, these attention-grabbing, displays of tongue poking, are a way to appear ‘edgy’ and ‘cool’, while ensuring the cameras get the best shot.
Scroll down for video
Last night, Kourtney Kardashian and her fiancé Travis Barker put on a very steamy display in front of the world’s press as the Gotha descended on downtown New York for the annual Met Gala. Body language expert Judi James revealed why their ‘tongue-twizzling’ pose is not as spontaneous as it might appear
And they are not alone, before he dated Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson was seen tongue kissing with Kate Beckinsale at a hockey game, and couples likes Cardi B and Offset have also been known to share snaps of themselves poking each other’s tongues on social media to show how hot their relationship is.
‘Tongue-poking is still seen as a rude and daring gesture and locking tongues like this makes a couple look hot,’ Judi said.
‘It also allows both of them to be 100 per cent visible in a way that they wouldn’t if they were kissing normally.
Because celebrities extend their tongues for these languorous kisses, ‘neither has to tilt their head to risk hiding their features,’ Judi revealed.
‘It also, importantly, doesn’t mess up the make-up or smear the lipstick,’ the expert added.
Looking at the couple’s appearance at the Met Gala on Monday night, Judi noted that this tongue-twizzle was one of the only way the couple touched.
‘We can see that there is very little other contact in this pose,’ she said.
‘Kourtney even has her hips pushed back away from Travis here, whereas a hint to real passion would be a pressing together of the pelvises,’ she added, suggesting the couple were putting on a show for the cameras.
And there is a reason celebrities are all adopting the all-out PDA: because they are competing for their relationship to be the most talked about.
‘This tongue-touching/twizzling trait is not just attention-grabbing, it’s also competitive,’ she explained
Before he was dating Kim Kardashian, Pet Davidson made his relationship with Kate Besicklae official with a French kiss during a hockey game
Machine Gun Kelly, 32 and Megan Fox, 35, have also made tongue kissing their go-to public display of affection
Cardi B and her husband Offset have also shared snaps of their steamy make-out sessions online
‘As celebrity couples like to vie to outdo one another in terms of sexual signals and risqué outfits.’
The body language expert explained that the couple who dabble with red carpet French kisses want to be known as couples who can’t take their hands off each other.
‘The idea is to present a “moment” that looks intimate and sensual, a spontaneous act of lust from a couple who just can’t keep their hands off one another,’ she said.
And Judi noted that it’s more likely to be used as a tactic by older celebs, than the teenagers you’d expect it from.
‘In terms of branding it creates an edgy, shocking and rebellious look that is often also seen as a bit of a body language glow-up for celebrities that can sometimes be waving goodbye to their younger years,’ she explained. ‘They want to look like eternal teens as well as emphasizing their ongoing desirability.’
The pose is great is you want to keep your make up intact and still strike an advantageous pose for the cameras
The tongue twizzling is Travis and Kourtney’s go-to pause. They perfected it after their engagement and were seen using the pose at the Academy Awards in March, left and at the Grammys in April
But, like many things in Hollywood, very little is left to chance, and these lustful kisses are ‘as carefully choreographed as any routine on Strictly,’ the expert added.
‘We can watch the couple wander down the red carpet before suddenly “bursting” into lust once they get in front of the cameras.
‘They can even repeat the kiss several times as they make their way down the carpet and you can often hear small cheers from the press and PRs as they get their money-shot,’ Judi added.
So why French kissing? Judi explained that this ‘hot’ visual is great exposure for both partners in the couple.
However, there was some real chemistry behind the posed kisses, Judi said, noting that ‘a clue to their authentic relationship away from the struck pose comes from the locking and splaying of the hands in the clasp.
‘This is a much sweeter gesture that suggests a cuter, more romantic relationship behind the scenes,’ she added.
OTHER CELEBRITY COUPLES WHO CAN’T RESIST THE TONGUE POKING TREND
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly
The Transformers star and her rocker fiance enjoyed what looked like a spontaneous steamy make-out session during the MTA VMAs in September, but they knew the world was watching.
‘Megan and Machine Gun’s pose might look spontaneous but it actually requires some awkward contortions to make it look this good,’ Judi said.
‘Megan likes to sit or stand in front of the much taller Machine Gun to allow maximum body and outfit exposure and to do that and tongue-twizzle requires pushing her head backwards and her chin up at an awkward angle,’ she added.
‘Don’t try it at home, it’s borderline painful but it clearly looks great for the cameras,’ the expert added.
Don’t try this at home! In order to get the perfect red carpet angle for their PDA, Megan Fox has to work her neck into a very uncomfortable position
Kanye West and Julia Fox
Even the laconic Kanye West dabbled with the art of the public French kiss when he was seen kissing former flame Julia Fox during Paris Fashion Week.
However, the rapper did not seem as into the kiss as his partner was.
‘Kanye’s pose looks much more passive as he is held in a passionate arm-lock and responds by just opening his mouth and exposing his tongue to allow her to touch or lick it with her own,’ Judi said.
‘It looks like an attempt to blend “cool” with “daring” but his apparent lack of effort doesn’t really suggest unquenchable lust,’ the expert added.
Public display: Kanye West kissed his latest girlfriend Julia Fox for a smoldering picture that surfaced on Instagram during Paris Fashion Week in 2021