Kim Kardashian says she was “blindsided” by the backlash to her viral comments about work, in which she claimed that “nobody wants to work these days”.
During the latest episode of The Kardashians, the 41-year-old businesswoman addressed the criticism she received from her viral Variety interview back in March. While speaking to sisters Khloe Kardashian and Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian stood by her interview but expressed shock that people were upset with her comments on women in business.
“I said what I said about people working,” Kardashian told her sisters in the episode. “Do I believe in that? Yes, I believe that you have to work hard in order to do that.”
She continued: “But I was just so blindsided by how angry people got. Enough people were triggered, so I want to be responsible and understand why people feel the way that they do. And I do understand that a lot of people weren’t given the same opportunities as us.”
Kardashian then apologised for her insensitive comments and claimed that the sentiment behind it was misconstrued.
“When I made that statement, it wasn’t a blanket statement towards all women,” she told cameras during her confessional.
“Like, as if I didn’t think women work hard or respect the work that they do because I see it every single day,” she said, adding that the most important people in her life, who have also helped shape her career, are all women. “I hated that that got misunderstood and for that I’m so sorry.”
Later on, Kardashian explained that she learned how to work hard from watching her mother, Kris Jenner. She recalled how the 66-year-old manager didn’t start making her own money until she was 50 years old, and had to take care of her six children.
“I think people would assume that I got everything handed to me, being on a TV show. But being on a reality show, let alone a reality show girl with a sex tape, does not open doors,” she admitted. “And so I always felt like I had to work extra hard and harder to be taken seriously and for people to forget about my past.”
Her sister Khloe Kardashian had a less apologetic approach to the viral backlash.
“No matter what her answer would’ve been, people would crucify her regardless,” the Good American founder said during the episode. “They’re always going to say, ‘Well, what do you know? You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth.’”
“It’s frustrating when the world doesn’t want to see you for who you are and they always want to make whatever you say a personal attack, and you don’t have empathy or compassion for other people,” she added. “It’s the right message, the wrong messenger.”
Last March, Kim Kardashian went viral after she offered advice for women looking to succeed in business. “I have the best advice for women in business,” she told Variety at the time. “Get your f***ing ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.”
However, Kardashian’s advice fell short on social media, where people called out the Skims founder for making a broad statement about working individuals. Others criticised Kardashian for failing to acknowledge her wealthy California upbringing, and her positional privilege, as a key to her success.
“If there’s one thing that resonates with normal people, it’s being told to work harder by people who were born rich,” one person tweeted.
“Yikes,” someone else said. “Maybe the best person to solicit advice for everyday people is not the person who grew up rich, connected, and privileged in every conceivable way.”
