No, Kim, I Will Not Get Off My Ass
I won't. I won't!
Oh, Kimberly. Kimberly, Kimberly, Kimberly. Right when I was starting to root for you. Right when you had the entire world in your corner after Kanye’s recent… how you say… erratic antics.
For context: In a recent interview with Variety promoting their new Hulu series, Kim was asked what her advice for women business owners would be. And—during International Womens’ Month, no less—Kim decided to say with her entire chest: “I have the best advice for women in business. Get off your f*cking ass and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.”
(At this point, Kourtney chimes in with, “That’s so true.” More on that later.)
Kim continues, her voice dripping with venom: “You have to surround yourself with people that want to work. Have a good work environment where everyone loves what they do. Because you only have one life. No toxic work environments. And show up and do the work.”
The thing about this statement is that it likely would’ve been received positively back in 2016 or 2017, during the height of the “girlboss” movement, when people like Audrey Gelman and Sophia Amoruso were splashed all over newsstands. (Interestingly, that’s the era the Kardashian-Jenners seem perpetually stuck in in many ways. I think this deserves an entire breakdown at some point.)
But it’s 2022: We’re two years into a pandemic that caused a permanent cultural shift when it comes to our perception of the ultra-wealthy; the cost of living is endlessly rising while wages are still as low as they were literally 13 years ago; and people are basically killing themselves trying to make ends meet with side gigs and extra sources of income on top of their full-time jobs.
Unsurprisingly, the entire internet dragged Kim across the coals, myself included. Yes, it would be nice to have been born into a Bel Air mansion to celebrity-adjacent parents while brushing elbows with A-listers during my childhood and then parlaying my connections into a career that consists of photoshoots, glam, and Instagram. And I mean that sincerely! That sounds like a great life!
Obviously, though, that’s not the reality for 99.99% of her fan base—and the world’s population—who, of course, felt a tinge of bitterness watching a woman who’s lived a life of unimaginable luxury patronizingly tell them they just need to “work harder.” Many people pointed out that it was giving Fox News soundbite. (Kim has already made it known that she prefers “the taxes that republicans want” in an interview with Bari Weiss.)
It didn’t take long for the first-person accounts to come pouring in: the people who’ve been on the Kardashians’ payroll, along with those not on any payroll because they were unpaid interns.
The lawless streets of Twitter also used this as an opportunity to remind people of the time Kim was sued by Brandy and her mom for racking up $120,000 worth of charges on one of their credit cards without permission (something we collectively don’t talk about enough), and the times she’s been sued by her employees for unpaid wages and violating labor laws. (One lawsuit filed by former employees of Kim read: “Plaintiffs never received any paystubs, were not paid on regular pay periods, were not given their required meal and rest breaks, were not provided a means to record all their hours, were not paid all their hours, were not reimbursed for employment expenses, were not paid all their overtime wages, and were not paid their wages upon termination of employment.”)
But yes, Kim—no toxic environments! (Kris Jenner was working devilishly hard when she made most of these stories quietly fade into oblivion, just like the time she herself was sued for sexual harassment and settled out of court.)
All of that aside: I feel like… we, as a society, generally don’t have a problem with the rich flouncing around, enjoying their riches, and occasionally flaunting said riches in our faces via social media. Some people were born into enviable financial situations, and their lives are occasionally fun to observe. But they need to know not to ever—under any circumstances—open their mouths, or if they do, they are prohibited from pretending they got there simply from hard work and hard work alone. Life is not a meritocracy. We know this by now.
I’d have so much more respect for the Kardashians if they simply acknowledged their privilege every once in a blue moon. (Remember when Kim said, “We get up and do the work!” when asked about unrealistic beauty standards, or when Kendall said she’s not “one of those [models] who would do like 30 shows a season or whatever the f*ck those girls do”?)
And don’t get me started on Kourtney, with the “that’s so true” heard round the world. Kourtney, of all people, needs to sit this one out. Kourtney has made hating work her entire personality for a decade now. Kourtney, like I said on Twitter, goes on more vacations in a three-month time period than most of us will go on in a lifetime. Kourtney, who is more often in Italy or Jacksonhole or St. Barts than her Calabasas mansion. Does she actually think Poosh is work? Does she actually think paying someone to write blog posts with turkey sandwich recipes is WORK? Shut up, Kourtney!
Of course, every time the Kardashians receive backlash, swaths of people decide it’s just a carefully orchestrated PR stunt from the twisted and genius mind of Kris Jenner. This gives them far too much credit, IMO—if this were all a plot to drum up more views for their new show, I’d say it’s a massive fail. The foremost destination for Kardashian fandom and snark, r/KUWTK, has been ablaze with criticism and anger over the comments, with countless users decrying, “I was going to watch the new Hulu show, but not anymore.”
I don’t even know when it premieres, honestly. Let’s all collectively decide to not watch it, shall we?
And… this just in: Like clockwork, Kim has posted her first Instagram with Pete Davidson to distract from the drama. Oy.
Things to Watch During This Weekend’s Winter Storm
Apparently there’s a bomb cyclone hitting the east coast this weekend? Kay.
The Dropout: Ooo-weee, this show was worth the wait, and worlds better than Inventing Anna (another long-awaited adaptation of a scammer queen’s fateful rise and fall). They’re not even in the same category, TBH. Amanda Seyfried nails it, transforming from a young, Stanford-attending Elizabeth Holmes into the iconic black turtleneck-donning, baritone-speaking one we all know and love.
A Weekend Away: Leighton Meester hive, RISE UP! I actually spoiled this one for myself because I read the summary of the book its based off, which was a dumb thing to do, because there are lots of juicy twists. I still enjoyed it, though!
Fresh: I discussed this on my most recent So Bad It’s Good With Ryan Bailey episode, but it’s worth emphasizing again: This movie is fun! It’s a creepy, sometimes-gory horror film but it’s also charming and occasionally hilarious with Sebastian Stan and Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones in the lead roles.
I whole-heartedly agree Sophie. I wouldn't watch their new show regardless of this latest problem. They nauseate me to my core.
I’ll do you one better…I’ll cancel my Hulu when the show comes out. I was planning to cancel it anyway, but I’ll wait until the show premieres and do it in that day haha