Topline
Kim Kardashian (a billionaire, according to Forbes) responded Monday to the massive backlash her comments about how “nobody wants to work anymore” created, saying they were “taken out of context.”
Key Facts
In an interview with Variety this month about her family’s upcoming reality show, Kardashian said she “has the best advice for women in business: get your f**king ass up and work,” and that “it seems like nobody wants to work these days.”
In a clip shared of an upcoming interview with ABC, Kardashian said the quote “became a sound bite really with no context” and said her response had to do with the question she received beforehand “which was after 20 years of being in the business, you're famous for being famous,” the billionaire said.
Kardashian continued that “it wasn’t a blanket statement towards women” and “I’m really sorry if it was received that way.”
Crucial Quote
“The advice that I would give is having a social media presence and being on a reality show does not mean overnight success,” Kardashian said. “You have to really work hard to get there even if it may seem like it’s easy.”
Big Number
13,400. That’s how many videos have been made on TikTok using the sound from Kardashian’s interview with Variety, and where much of the criticism has taken place.
Key Background
In rebuking Kardashian, many pointed out the privilege Kardashian has had that’s helped fueled her success, including having familial wealth. The comments were even a punchline on Sunday’s Academy Awards, where co-hosts Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes joked that Dame Judy Dench, an 87-year-old former Oscar winner, should take Kardashian’s advice and “work harder” because she lost her award category. Kardashian, who recently split from husband Kanye West, has an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion, earned mostly from her shapewear company Skims and her beauty brand. She became a billionaire for the first time in 2021.
Further Reading
Kim Kardashian Is $600 Million Richer After Shapewear Brand Skims Hits $3.2 Billion Valuation (Forbes)
‘Money Always Matters’: The Kardashians Tell All About Their New Reality TV Reign (Variety)
