It’s 2021, and if you still have anything against Kim Kardashian West, it’s time to let go.
The reality and business mogul’s billionaire status was announced at the beginning of April. Forbes valuating her merely two-year-old empire, Skims, at $1.2 billion, along with her recent sale of 20% of KKW Beauty to cosmetics magistrate Coty, totaling up to about $200 million.
Everyone knows who Kim Kardashian is. That, I can guarantee. If my grandpa, who lives in a Minnesota suburb, knows, yours probably does too. ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians,’ her family show just wrapped up its 20th season. A feat unmatched by most shows on television for the past decade.
Despite Kardashian West’s undoubted success, freshly a billionaire, with a long-running T.V. show on a major network. Many still choose to doubt and even judge her success, passing it off as undeserving. She’s been perhaps one of the most prominent subjects of tabloid fodder. Consistently in the media for the past ten years, many outlets relentlessly targeting every small thing she says, does or wears.
It has bothered me for many years, and it’s about time that I finally announce enough is enough. Why do we target those who decide to put their entire lives on display solely for our entertainment? While yes, there’s a large amount of personal gain involved. We should regard these Reality T.V. Stars, Kardashian status, or 90-day Fiancé status as some of the bravest people on television.
My fascination with Reality T.V. started long before I could even understand that a $5,000 budget on Say Yes to the Dress was more than enough and not a bargain hunter wasting my 7-year-old brain’s time. TLC was cranking gems out faster than I could keep up, but my younger sister and I were absolutely hooked. Our babysitters were always shocked that we wanted to watch reruns of Jon and Kate Plus 8 instead of Disney Channel.
Years pass by, and my obsession only grew, now growing into being sucked in by Teen Mom commercials and Jersey Shore season finales. My parents had a strict “no MTV” rule, which, now that I look back on it, definitely made sense, nevertheless infuriated me at the time. All I wanted to do was know why Snooki and JWOWW got into their fight in the cab or if the 16-year-old new mom was able to balance school and her child. While I listened to my parents and didn’t succumb to the longing of being an insider of the Shore House, I did sneak one or two episodes once I got a laptop and understood how to stream free episodes (sorry, mom and dad).
If you know me personally, this news probably isn’t shocking to you. I’m a self-proclaimed pop culture junkie, who cannot get enough of celebrity gossip, episodes of any Bravo show, and treats reality recap podcasts as a religious practice. I can recite Housewife taglines better than I can recite information on art history exams. I don’t subscribe to the notion that this is something I should be ashamed of or something that lowers my intellect. Shamelessness is the entire idea at the core of reality T.V., and I am proud that I can be an encyclopedia on all things “trashy television.” As my favorite Housewife, Lisa Rinna, says, “I don’t have to buy it, ’cause I already own it.”
Many Americans sit at home on their couches, judging the people on the show they’re watching, coining the term “famous for nothing.” They genuinely believe that these cast members have done nothing to deserve a spot on the show they’re on, quickly passing it off as “I can do that.”
To put it harshly, I can guarantee you, my friend, are not interesting enough for me to watch for 20 seasons. Starting from the time I was thirteen years old to now, a year away from graduating college. If you are, let’s chat.
The bravery essential to have cameras follow one around through marriage, divorce, birth, death, scandal after scandal is unique to few people. In my eyes, the courage and hutzpah of these people to open up their doors to us, entirely open to judgment and criticism, is something I could absolutely never allow.
But God, am I thankful they do.
Words by Olivia Hawkins.
Graphic by Emily Tobias.